The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Friday issued a warning about a surge in fraudulent activities where individuals falsely claim to represent the regulatory body.

These scammers, posing as CySEC officers, have been approaching investors via email and fake online accounts, soliciting fees in exchange for supposed compensation claims related to firms under CySEC supervision.

In a statement, CySEC stressed that it does not engage in direct contact with individuals regarding financial matters.

“CySEC never contacts individuals by telephone or sends unsolicited correspondence and does not request personal data, financial or other information,” the regulator stated.

Moreover, it urged investors to verify the authenticity of any communication by emailing [email protected] before taking action.

The commission also highlighted that some fraudsters have been using fake email addresses designed to mimic official CySEC domains.

“Genuine emails from CySEC include addresses ending in cysec.gov.cy – although, there have been cases where fraudsters have disguised their web addresses to copy these,” CySEC warned.

Furthermore, the regulatory body clarified that it has no mandate to collect fees from investors.

“CySEC has no authority or mandate to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors, nor does it have authority to appoint anyone to do so on its behalf,” the commission said.

Investors were also reminded that CySEC does not oversee or participate in compensation schemes or financial settlements.

“CySEC does not authorise, verify, monitor, or engage in any way in class actions, compensation schemes, payments between natural or legal entities or any public or private organisations,” it stated.

In response to the increasing fraud attempts, CySEC encouraged the public to remain alert and careful when it comes to dealing with any unsolicited communication claiming to be from the commission.

“CySEC urges the public to remain vigilant and cautious of any unsolicited communication claiming to be from CySEC, and to refrain from sending money to anyone claiming to represent it,” the commission stated.

Furthermore, CySEC directed investors to its official website for regular updates and warnings regarding fraudulent activities.

More information can be found on its investor protection pages, which provide guidance on avoiding scams and identifying unregulated entities.