The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to exercise caution when conducting financial services business with Sappi Online Investment (Sappi Online).
It has come to the FSCA’s attention that Sappi Online is purporting to be an authorised financial service provider (FSP) on Telegram by using FSP number 45741. The FSP number being used by Sappi Online belongs to Sanlam Life Insurance Ltd (Sanlam).
Sappi Online is using Telegram to solicit funds from members of the public by promising unrealistic payouts.
While the FSCA does not comment on the specific business model or services offered by Sappi Online, it is important to note that Sappi Online is not authorised by the FSCA to provide financial services to members of the public. Sanlam confirmed that it has no association with Sappi Online and it does not use Telegram to conduct business. The FSCA was unable to reach Sappi Online on the contact details available to it.
The public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering investment or trading offers on social media platforms or any unsolicited offers. 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.