The Securities and Exchange Commission has advised the investing public against unregistered entities offering so-called investment products.
In a series of public advisories, the SEC warned against investing in Flipkart Platform, PPG Investment Group/Conamor Shop, Livewell Multiventures, Blackrock and Perfx Solutions Corp. and Trading Basket and Trading Philippines.
All of these firms offer investment scams, the SEC said.
Flipkart, for instance, directly communicates with their victims through email, calls, SMS, WhatsApp and other communication platforms and offer unbelievable discounts, money, investment contracts, or promises of large sums in return for a small up-front payment.
If the victim makes the payment, the fraudsters either ask for more fees from the victim or they simply disappear after obtaining the amount.
Flipkart’s scheme involves an advance fee, which is a form of fraud and one of the most common types of confidence tricks. It is commonly performed through email, fax or letter from strangers requiring the victim to pay an advance fee before receiving a significant share of a large sum of money. The advance payment may be described as a processing fee, tax, commission or incidental expense that will be repaid later.
“Their schemes typically involve promising a victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster requires in order to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears,” the SEC said.
PPG Investment Group or Conamor Shop works by borrowing capital from investors and allegedly using this to buy beauty products.
Livewell Multiventures entices the online public to invest in their Tester Plan, Home Starter and Eagle Plan in increments of P500, P5,000.00 and P50,000.00, respectively, to earn a fixed daily return of 3 percent for 60 days or a total of 180 percent in just 2 months.
Blackrock, the SEC said, works by impersonating the New York City-based asset manager and investment company, BlackRock by making it appear that investors earn from their crude oil trades.
PERF Solutions and Trading Cartel’s investment scheme involves the sale of securities without prior registration and/or license to solicit investments from the SEC.
