The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to be cautious when conducting financial services business with persons on Telegram purporting to be Nampak Limited (Nampak) and its CEO, Mr. Phil Roux (Mr. Roux).

It was brought to the attention of the FSCA that the individuals behind the Telegram group @LeaderPhilRoux – Nampak Stock Trades are fraudulently using the name of Nampak and details of its CEO, Mr. Roux, to solicit funds from the public.

Members of the Telegram groups are promised unrealistic returns on their investments through trading in Bitcoin. They are promised returns of up to R22,700 from an initial investment of R4,600 within four days under the basic plan, and up to R262,000 from an initial investment of R65,000 under the standard plan. The FSCA emphasises that such returns are unrealistic and strongly indicate fraudulent activity.

Nampak has confirmed that it and its CEO are not associated with the Telegram groups or the administrators of these groups. The company further stated that its brand name and the details of its CEO are being used without permission.

The FSCA points out that offering financial products and services in South Africa requires authorisation. The impersonators are not licensed under any financial sector law to provide financial products or financial services in South Africa. The administrators behind the Telegram groups could not be reached for comment.

The public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering investment or trading offers on social media or any unsolicited offers.

It is highly recommended that the public verify:

• that an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for giving recommendations about how to invest.
• what category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and then offer advice on far more complex and risky products.
• that the FSP number utilised by the entity or individual offering financial services matches to name of the FSP on the FSCA database.

The public is advised to be on the lookout for the tell-tale danger signs when dealing with persons offering attractive investment opportunities. These red flags include:

• Unrealistic returns
• Requirements to pay for services upfront before any work is done for you
• Requirements to pay more money to have your investments returned
• Requirements to pay for training
• Claims that you must act and pay urgently i.e. putting you under pressure
• Vague information about the investment product 

One of the following methods may be used to confirm the status and FSP number of a service provider or a person that claims to be an authorised service provider:

1. Toll-free number: 0800 110 443
2. Online search for authorised financial institution by license category: https://www.fsca.co.za/Regulated%20Entities/Pages/List-Regulated-Entities-Persons.aspx
3. Online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP in terms of the FAIS Act: https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm

ENDS

Enquiries: Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Email address: Communications@fsca.co.za 

Telephone: 0800 203 722