The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to exercise caution when conducting financial services business with persons purporting to be associated XM ZA (Pty) Ltd (FSP 49976) (XM ZA).
It has come to the FSCA’s attention that there are individuals impersonating XM ZA through WhatsApp. The administrators of the WhatsApp group are operating a WhatsApp profile under the name “XM Trading” and are purporting to be associated with XM ZA. The impersonators are soliciting investments through the WhatsApp group. XM ZA confirmed that it is not associated with the administrators of the WhatsApp group.
While the FSCA does not comment on the specific business model or services offered on the WhatsApp group, it is important to note that the administrators of the group are not authorised under any financial sector law to provide financial services to the public. The individuals behind the platforms failed to respond to FSCA queries.
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.