Regulatory News Maria Nikolova October 9, 2023 The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has issued a warning against fraudsters usurping the identity of major banks. The principle remains the same: victims are contacted by telephone or by email without having taken any prior initiative themselves or after having entered their contact details on an online form. Such forms are frequently offered to consumers on social media, via advertisements or sponsored publications. The fraudsters then offer consumers savings plans with the promise of returns in excess of market returns and most often with a capital guarantee. But in the end, the result is the same: the victims find themselves unable to recover their money. The FSMA recently observed that fraudsters usurped the names of several banks to deceive consumers. The regulator has received reports about scammers using the following names: BGL BNP Paribas Fortis, using email addresses ending with ‘@bglgestionprivee.com’; Bunq, using email addresses ending with ‘@epargnebunq.com’; Fineco, using email addresses ending with ‘@fib-gestion.com’ and ‘bfigestion.com’; Revolut-épargne, using email addresses ending with ‘@revolut-epargne.com’; Triodos, using email addresses ending with ‘@triodos-europe.com’ and ‘@triodos-finance.com’; London Stock Exchange, using email addresses ending with ‘@lse-gestion.com’, and a website ‘www2.lse-private.com’. Fraudsters might also usurp the names of other financial institutions. Maria Nikolova Maria has been engaged in journalism for more than 17 years, providing Forex industry coverage for the past 10 years. Before joining FNG she was Managing Editor at FinanceFeeds. Prior to that, she worked at LeapRate. Maria has a Philosophy degree from the St. Kliment Ochridski university in Sofia. She has specialized in Cognitive Science in Vienna. Her interests include psychology, AI, and linguistics.
Belgium’s FSMA warns of fraudsters usurping identity of major banks
