The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to exercise caution when conducting financial services business with individuals impersonating the authorised financial services provider GatesFX (Pty) Ltd (FSP No. 46087) on online platforms.
It has come to the FSCA’s attention that individuals operating under the name GatesFX LTD are purporting to be associated with GatesFX (Pty) Ltd, through a website and a Facebook page, to solicit funds from members of the public for investment in foreign exchange (forex) trading. GatesFX (Pty) Ltd confirmed that it is not associated with GateFX or the online platforms being used to impersonate it.
While the FSCA does not comment on the specific business model or services offered by GateFX, the FSCA notes that that GatesFX LTD, is not authorised under any financial sector law to provide financial services to members of the South African public. GatesFX LTD failed to respond to FSCA queries.
The public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering unsolicited investment or trading offers, particularly those communicated through social media platforms. Members of the public are advised to act with care when investing their funds, as many fraudsters operate sophisticated scams, the number of which continues to grow. South Africans lose millions of rands each year to such schemes, which are often disguised as legitimate investment operations.