Telegram groups impersonating Truffle and Vista Wealth

Posted on by

Individuals are impersonating Truffle Asset Management and Vista Wealth Management to defraud members of the public, the FSCA said this month.

The individuals have set up groups on Telegram that unlawfully use the names of Vista Wealth, Truffle, and Saul Miller, who is a portfolio manager and key individual at Truffle.

Vista Wealth (FSP No. 48021) and Truffle (FSP No. 36584) are authorised financial services providers. Neither company is associated with the Telegram groups or the administrators of these groups. Both FSPs have confirmed that they do not use social media and specifically Telegram to market their services.

As is commonly the case with investment scams, the administrators of the Telegram group promise members unrealistic returns on their “investment”.

Other signs that an “investment opportunity” might be a scam are:

  • mandatory upfront payment before any services are performed;
  • requiring additional payments to have the original capital returned;
  • requiring payment for training;
  • applying pressure to invest immediately, or “lose out” on a “once in a lifetime” opportunity; and
  • a lack of transparency about the investment product and how it works.

The FSCA has also warned the public to be cautious when conducting financial services business with Capital Recoveries.

It has come to the Authority’s attention that Capital Recoveries informed members of the public it is an authorised FSP, with FSP number 34142. But 34142 is the FSP number of Laurium Capital (Pty) Ltd.

Laurium is not associated with Capital Recoveries. Despite attempts to engage with Capital Recoveries for comment, it has not responded, the FSCA said.

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: