Warning of impersonation scam involving Nampak

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Individuals are impersonating Nampak, the largest packaging manufacturer in Africa, and its chief executive to defraud the public, warns the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

The fraudsters have set up groups on Telegram, one of which is called @LeaderPhilRoux – Nampak Stock Trades. Phil Roux is the chief executive of Nampak.

Members of the Telegram groups are promised unrealistic returns on their “investments” through trading in Bitcoin. They are promised returns of up to R22 700 from an initial investment of R4 600 within four days under the basic plan, and up to R262 000 from an initial investment of R65 000 under the standard plan.

Nampak and Roux are not associated with the Telegram groups or the administrators of these groups.

The FSCA also warned the public of two entities making deceptive claims and promoting questionable “investment” opportunities.

An entity called World Option Crypto is falsely claiming to be a financial services provider and a juristic representative of Consort Technical Underwriting Managers (Pty) Ltd.

World Option Crypto is not authorised in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act to provide financial advice and render intermediary services in South Africa.

Consort Technical Underwriting Managers, an authorised FSP (No. 2273), no business relationship with World Option Crypto.

In another advisory, the FSCA cautions against engaging with JoziEx and Richard Mouton, who are soliciting “investments” through WhatsApp and Instagram.

JoziEx requires minimum deposits ranging from R1 000 to R10 000, promising a profit of more than 50% profit within days. The FSCA points out that unrealistic returns must be viewed with great suspicion.

JoziEx falsely claims to be affiliated with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Without commenting on the specifics of JoziEx and Mouton’s business, the FSCA noted that neither JoziEx nor Mouton is not authorised to provide financial services to the public in South Africa.

Advisory to the public

The FSCA urges extreme caution when approached with unsolicited investment opportunities, particularly those found on social media. To avoid financial fraud, individuals should always confirm whether a financial service provider is registered by checking the FSCA’s database.

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: