The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to be cautious when conducting financial services and insurance business with Davids Community Funeral Services (Pty) Ltd (Davids Community Funerals) and Mr. Endrico Davids (Mr. Endrico).
The FSCA received a complaint that Mr. Endrico and Davids Community Funerals may be issuing insurance policies to members of the public which are possibly not underwritten by an authorised long-term insurer. The FSCA found that Davids Community Funerals is not authorised in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (FAIS Act), to render financial advisory and intermediary services.
The FSCA attempted to contact Mr. Endrico without success. Without commenting on the business of Mr. Endrico and Davids Community Funerals or their products and services, the FSCA points out that for a company to issue insurance policies in South Africa, it must be authorised by FSCA and the Prudential Authority (the PA).
Conducting financial services business or insurance business without a license is a criminal offence. Mr. Endrico and Davids Community Funerals are not authorised and does not hold any license from the FSCA and/or the PA to conduct financial services and/or insurance business.
The public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering unsolicited investment or trading offers, especially those communicated through social media. The public is urged to act with care when investing their funds. There are many fraudsters operating scams, and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters. Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations. The public is advised to be on the lookout for certain tell-tale danger signs when approached by persons offering attractive investment opportunities.
These red flags include:
- Unrealistic or exaggerated returns
- Offers made on social media platforms
- Requirements to pay for services upfront
- Requirements to pay more money to have your investments returned
- Requirements to pay for training
- Claims that you must act and pay urgently i.e. creating a sense of urgency
- Vague information about the investment product.
Members of the public may use one of the following methods to confirm whether a service provider or person is authorised to act as an FSP by the FSCA, including to verify their FSP number:
To confirm whether a person or institution is authorised, contact the FSCA on the toll-free number 0800 110 443 or visit https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm.
Suspicious activities can be reported via the Ethics and Fraud Hotline at 0800 313 626, by email at fsca@behonest.co.za, or online at www.behonest.co.za.