FSCA warns of fraudulent financial services scams on Telegram

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The FSCA has warned the public of impersonation scams that have come to its attention recently. South Africans are losing millions of rands every year to fraudsters who hijack the identities and branding of legitimate financial services entities.

One of the latest scams involves a group of individuals on Telegram pretending to be RisCura Solutions (Pty) Ltd (FSP No. 46638) and its key individual, Natalie Brink.

The individuals behind the Telegram group are fraudulently using the name of RisCura Solutions and Brink to solicit investments into Bitcoin, among other products, the FSCA said. Members of the public with access to the Telegram group were promised unrealistic returns within a short period.

RisCura Solutions does not use Telegram to market its services and has denied any association or relationship with the individuals administering the Telegram group.

The administrators of the Telegram group were not available for comment.

In another Telegram-based scam, individuals are falsely claiming to represent Salvo Capital (Pty) Ltd (FSP No. 8106).

According to information received by the FSCA, these individuals allege they are managing accounts and conduct trading activities on behalf of clients through remote access. They promise a 200% return on an investment within four days.

Salvo Capital is not associated with these individuals and does not engage in the activities described.

The FSCA urges the public to exercise caution when encountering such schemes on messaging platforms and social media, because these types of scams are becoming increasingly common.

The Authority has urged the public to act with caution when doing financial services-related business with Isandiso Sethu Investments (Pty) Ltd, trading as Isandisofx.

The FSCA said it has become aware of an article claiming that Isandiso has entered a partnership and strategic co-operation agreement with the FSCA. But this is not the case.

Isandiso (FSP No. 52985) is licensed to render Category I financial products and services. This licence authorises the entity to provide advice and intermediary services in respect of insurance products – Long-term Insurance Subcategory A and Friendly Society Benefits.

The FSCA said Isandiso has been offering and marketing financial services relating to investments, derivatives, and forex products, which it is not authorised to offer.

Moonstone asked Isandiso to comment on the Authority’s allegations, but a response has yet to be received.

Check before you invest

The FSCA says members of the public should always check the following:

  • That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.
  • The category of advice the person is registered to provide, because there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.
  • That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.

You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by: