The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has issued a warning regarding a surge in fraudulent WhatsApp groups that claim to offer “exclusive investment tips.” These scams typically impersonate reputable financial institutions, such as Saxo Bank and JP Morgan, to deceive retail investors.
In recent months, the FSMA has observed an uptick in deceptive investment schemes proliferating across social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. Fraudsters utilize misleading advertisements to attract users into WhatsApp groups that purport to provide exclusive investment advice.
Once inside these groups, participants may be coerced into sharing personal information, purchasing specified shares, or downloading fraudulent trading applications. The FSMA has reiterated that the phenomenon continues to grow, despite its ongoing public warnings.
These scams typically employ ads that falsely claim to offer unique financial analyses and profitable investment insights, often featuring the logos of well-known banks and media outlets without authorization. After joining the groups, victims frequently encounter individuals posing as renowned economists or CEOs of investment firms, which constitutes a clear case of identity theft.
Within these groups, members may be encouraged to participate in lotteries, likely aimed at harvesting personal data, while simultaneously being urged to buy particular U.S.-listed shares, possibly as part of a “pump and dump” scheme. Additionally, fraudulent cryptocurrency trading apps are heavily promoted.
The FSMA has compiled a list of various organizations whose names have been misused in these scams, including Appollo Global Management, Axiom Investors, Candriam, and several others. The regulator emphasizes that these fraudulent groups have no affiliation with any legitimate financial institutions.
To combat this issue, the FSMA has added these misleading websites to its register of unlawfully operating companies in Belgium and has advised consumers to verify the legitimacy of any investment provider through its “Check your provider” page.
