CySEC issues warning about impersonators scamming people online

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Tuesday issued a warning that certain people are impersonating CySEC representatives on social media platforms in order to defraud them.

This alert comes in response to the identification of a fraudulent Instagram account with the username “cysec_cy,” which has been created maliciously and is not affiliated with CySEC.

Through this illegitimate Instagram account, the commission explained, certain individuals are falsely presenting themselves as CySEC officers or representatives and are attempting to solicit investors for fees in exchange for the alleged settlement of counterfeit compensation claims related to firms under CySEC’s supervision.

CySEC has emphasised a number of key points in response to this scam, including that the commission never initiates contact through the phone or sends unsolicited correspondence, nor does it request personal or financial information from individuals, as well as the fact that genuine emails from CySEC will have addresses ending in gov.cy.

“However, it is worth noting that fraudsters have attempted to clone these email addresses as well,” the commission warned.

Moreover, investors are urged to verify the authenticity of any communications claiming to be from CySEC by contacting the commission at [email protected] before taking any action.

“CySEC does not possess the authority or jurisdiction to collect fees from individual investors for any purpose, nor does it appoint any entity to do so on its behalf,” the commission stressed.

“CySEC is not involved in authorising, verifying, monitoring, or participating in class actions, compensation schemes, payments between individuals or entities, or any activities of public or private agencies,” it added.

Moreover, the commission reminded the public that it has issued multiple public warnings in similar cases. These warnings are available on its official website, under ‘CySEC Public Warnings‘.

What is more, the commission strongly advised the public to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited communications claiming to be from CySEC.

“CySEC urges the public to remain vigilant regarding any unsolicited communication from CySEC, to refrain from giving money to anyone who claims any or all of the above, or similar,” CySEC concluded.