The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned of criminals increasingly targeting online investment platforms in SA, with the International Capital Markets and RCG Markets being the latest targets.
On its LinkedIn page, FSCA warns the public against doing any financial services-related business with a fraudulent Instagram account and website run by individuals purporting to be from RCG Markets, an authorised financial services provider in SA (FSP number 49769).
“It has been brought to the attention of the FSCA that the individuals are scamming the public using a fraudulent Instagram page with the handle RCGmarkets_1 and a website with the address – www.rcgmarkets.us.”
FSCA says RCG Markets, which provides an online trading platform for clients using its website www.rcgmarkets.com, has confirmed that it is in no way related to these individuals or the fraudulent account and website being used.
Meanwhile, another alert was issued by the FSCA earlier this week, warning the public to be cautious of a scam being run on TikTok and Facebook by individuals purporting to be from International Capital Markets.
“The FSCA received information from a member of the public who was defrauded by individuals on TikTok. They promised to invest her money in return for a greater pay-out, and subsequently requested her to deposit more money to release her investment return. Furthermore, another individual on Facebook offered to assist her with recovering her investment returns from the individuals who defrauded her, and this too turned out to be a scam as she was requested to deposit more funds,” says FSCA.
International Capital Markets is a registered financial services provider (FSP number 50715) and the company has confirmed that it is not associated with the individuals on TikTok or Facebook using its name, notes FSCA.
“The FSCA encourages the public to be cautious of such schemes being run on messaging platforms, as well as the different social media platforms as they are on the rise.”
To check if an individual or entity is authorised, the FSCA urges the public to call the toll-free number: 0800 110 443 or conduct an online search.
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