Fraud alert! NSE cautions investors against entities impersonating reputed financial institutions

NSE on Monday warned investors of unscrupulous persons and entities “falsely” claiming to offer trading opportunities through foreign portfolio investment (FPI) or foreign institutional investor (FII) sub-accounts or institutional accounts with special privileges, impersonating reputed financial institutions.

The persons/entities operating through Indian and international mobile numbers, through social media platforms like WhatsApp groups, Facebook, Telegram and Instagram channels, have been showcasing fake certificates purportedly issued by Sebi/exchanges, a joint release by the exchanges said.

These operations often use mobile numbers registered under false names to orchestrate their schemes, the release said.

The activities of such persons/ entities may include:

The entities have been providing unregulated trading platforms and unauthorised trading applications, which resemble or impersonate applications/websites of registered trading members.

They have been luring people to join/create institutional accounts to get guaranteed/high returns without the need for an official trading or demat account.

The assured or guaranteed returns on investments are being offered in capital, forex and commodities markets.

The entities are offering to handle the trading accounts of investors by asking the latter to share their login credentials, including passwords.

These entities/persons are claiming to facilitate pre-IPO subscriptions with false promises of assured profits, offering dabba and illegal trading services.

“The exchanges hereby advise investors to exercise due caution and refrain themselves from joining any WhatsApp/Telegram group where stock recommendations are given along with market analysis or downloading any App offering Institutional account services for members of WhatsApp/Telegram groups which have the features of trading in UPPER CIRCUIT stocks, Block Deals at discounted prices, preferential allotment in IPOs etc. Please note that you could be the next victim of transnational financial fraud promising unrealistic returns through fake institutional account services offered through fake trading Apps,” the release said.

Victims of these scams have been asked to transfer funds to third-party bank accounts and funds are siphoned off from these accounts immediately and left in lurch with only the paper profits shown in the fake trading Apps.

NSE has advised investors to report any such suspected fraud communication at the Chakshu facility of the Department of Telecommunications.

For those who have already lost money, a report can be filed on cybercrime helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in.

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