<p>The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
(CySEC) has detected new cases of persons and fake websites impersonating its
officers, representatives and legal website. The Cypriot financial markets
regulator announced on Tuesday that these cases “are part of a sophisticated
online campaign to defraud investors.” </p><p class=”MsoNormal”>CySEC, therefore, warned investors to be extra
vigilant of imposters soliciting fees in exchange for settlement of bogus
compensation claims related to firms under its supervision. The watchdog emphasized
that it never sends unsolicited messages to investors or members of the public.
It added that it does not also demand personal financial
data or otherwise.</p><p class=”MsoNormal text-align-justify”>Scam Methods</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>According to <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/cysec/” target=”_blank”>CySEC</a>, the recent cases of
impersonation took various forms, including fraudsters
claiming to be CySEC officers or appointed representatives of the regulator
such as legal advisors. Some of them also pretended to be from other real or fake
Cypriot supervisory authorities. </p><p class=”MsoNormal”>“The scammers contact clients of CySEC-regulated
entities, often via emails and sometimes by telephone, which appear genuine and
include the name, address, official stamp and logo of CySEC, fraudulently
copying CySEC officials’ signatures,” CySEC further explained.</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>Another form the fraudsters take, the market
supervisor further warned, is by pretending to be assisting investors in regaining their compensation claims from deals they may have had with legal firms.
These are typically online trading firms that offer speculative investment
products, CySEC noted, adding that “through these preliminary contacts, the
fraudsters illegally obtain additional personal information.”</p><p class=”MsoNormal text-align-justify”>Fake Websites</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>In a separate statement on
Tuesday, CySEC also disclosed that it has identified five fake websites
impersonating its original site. These websites are cysec-regulatory.com, www.cysecsupport.online, www.cysec-support.online, www.cysecgov.com
and www.cysecs.group.</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>“CySEC does not authorize, verify, monitor, nor
is it in any way involved in class actions, compensation schemes, payments
between natural or legal entities or any public or private agencies,” CySEC said. The regulator also urged investors to confirm the
authenticity of whatever message that purportedly originates from them through the
email, <a href=”mailto:info@cysec.gov.cy”>info@cysec.gov.cy</a>, before taking any actions. </p><p class=”MsoNormal text-align-justify”>Previous Cases</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>In April, CySEC <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cysec-warns-against-fraudsters-impersonating-as-regulatory-staff/”>issued a
similar warning</a>,
noting that fraudsters were presenting themselves as CySEC officers or
representatives. These scammers are targeting investors, trying to solicit them
for fees in exchange for the settlement of bogus compensation claims, the
regulator said.</p><p class=”MsoNormal”>Last year, CySEC <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cysec-warns-on-fake-website-based-in-india-impersonating-them/”>detected a
fake website</a>, www.cysec.gov.cy,
that was hosted in India and was impersonating its original site. The regulator
noted that the fake site illegally copied contents from its website, thereby
giving a false impression that it was real.</p>
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
