Scams Targeting FSC Customers
It has come to the attention of the Financial Services Commission (“the Commission”) that customers are being targeted in phishing schemes under the false authority of the Commission.
Scammers may be impersonating the Commission by contacting individuals to pay fees and give personal information to receive funds. These emails often have an invoice attached or link with fake payment details and infect your computer with malware if the link is selected.
Warning signs the email/letter is not from FSC
An email/letter is probably a scam and is not from FSC if it asks you:
- To make a payment over the phone,
- To make a payment to receive a refund,
- To provide your credit card or bank details directly by email or phone
- To pay fees that are different from the fees on our website.
A scam email/letter often refers to the following terms:
- Bitcoins
- Pending investigation of your request for attachment or claim XXXXX
- A check of the history of your trading account registered in [name of company]
- Pending amount to be transferred to any bank account licensed by XXXX and associated with Bitcoin.
If the email or letter you received contains information like the above, it is not from FSC.
How do I protect myself from email scams?
To help protect yourself:
- Be cautious of emails that don’t address you by name or misspell your details.
- Be cautious of emails that have unknown attachments.
- Be cautious of emails received from unknown persons.
- Do not click on any links on a suspicious email.
- Contact the Financial Services Commission (FSC) FIRST via email and inquire on the authenticity of email and/or letters.
- Conduct your due diligence and verify a license or registration using FSC’s public registry here: Licensed/Registered Service Providers
- Be careful when using public wireless networks,
- Keep your anti-virus software up to date and run weekly anti-virus and malware scans.
How do I notify FSC of a potential scam?
If you would like to notify the FSC of a potential scam email, kindly fill out the form below to report a suspected scam attempt.