CySEC warns public of fake loss recovery websites targeting investors
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a warning about malicious websites falsely claiming to be associated with the regulator and offering to recover investment losses for investors.
CySEC said it had identified several fraudulent websites, including getyourmoneyback.ltd, getyoursback.org, theystole.net, chargebackinternational.com, chargebackme.com and chargebackmoney.biz.
In its announcement, the commission also said that there may be other similar websites which have not yet come to its attention.
These websites are advertised online and on social media and mainly target people who have already been victims of online fraud.
They attempt to collect personal and financial information from investors through websites, emails and phone calls, while falsely representing themselves as being linked to CySEC.
Fraudsters are also using email addresses that resemble the official CySEC domain, such as false emails that appear similar to @cysec.gov.cy, to impersonate officers or representatives of the commission.
Through these methods, they offer to recover investment losses from regulated or unregulated entities, CySEC said.
“CySEC never contacts individuals by telephone or sends unsolicited correspondence and does not request personal data, financial or other information,” the commission stated.
It urged investors to confirm the authenticity of any communication purporting to be from CySEC by emailing report.fraud@cysec.gov.cy before taking action, and to notify the commission of any suspicious activity.
What is more, CySEC reminded the public that genuine emails always come from addresses ending in cysec.gov.cy, although fraudsters may disguise email addresses to impersonate these.
The commission also stressed that it has no authority to collect fees from individual investors, nor does it authorise anyone to act on its behalf for this purpose.
Furthermore, CySEC explained that it does not verify or engage in class actions, compensation schemes or payments between natural or legal entities or any public or private organisations.
The commission has issued multiple warnings and updates about unregulated entities and impersonations of its representatives, which are available on its website under CySEC warnings.
It also provides an investor guide on how to avoid scams, which can be accessed on its website.
Finally, CySEC urged the public to remain vigilant and to refrain from sending money to anyone claiming to represent the regulator.