SEC warns public on surge of investment scams

CEBU, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Cebu) urged the public to invest wisely as investment scam cases have increased during the pandemic.

According to SEC-Cebu Extension Office From January to October 2020, the Commission identified over 200 fraudulent individuals or entities and have released advisories about the matter on their official website.

There is a 400 percent increase of fraudulent entities this year as compared to 2019.

  The Commission urged the public to invest wisely and to check with the SEC before investing in any particular entity.

Thus, in observance of the Commission’s 84th anniversary, the Commission chose to celebrate it as the Investor Protection Week, pursuant to Proclamation No. 846 issued by President Duterte on November 15, 2019.

SEC Cebu officer-in-charge, Atty. Alma Marie R. Estrada-Dalena said unauthorized entities are taking advantage of the pandemic to scam investors.

“People should think twice before making any investment, especially if an entity is offering unreasonably high returns. We want to inform the investing public that the SEC registration does not authorize an entity to solicit investments. The SEC registration only grants juridical personality, but a secondary license is required if they want to engage in investment taking.” Dalena said.

The Securities Regulation Code (SRC) requires that the offer or sale of securities must be duly registered with the Commission. The entity and its agents who offer securities for sale must also be licensed to do so.

Apart from the traditional Ponzi and pyramiding schemes, other entities have implored other illegal schemes in the guise of cryptocurrencies and forex trading to wrongly entice investors.

“We are inviting the public to join us in our month-long activities for Investor Protection Week. They may email us at [email protected] to register to any of the webinars organized by our office. They may also visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/PhilippineSEC for additional updates.” Dalena added.

The public may report a scam to [email protected] or [email protected]. They may also access the full list of fraudulent entities identified by the Commission on the Advisories page of the SEC official website, which they may access via this link: https://www.sec.gov.ph/investors