The Enforcement Committee of Frech
financial market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has issued a
cautionary statement urging investors to exercise vigilance on a fraudulent
automated trading service offered by Immediate Connect. The service has been
aggressively promoted on the internet and social networks through deceptive
advertisements and fake articles impersonating celebrities and reputable news
websites.
According to investor reports received
on 23 June, retail investors discovered the automated trading service via
deceptive online content, including an article falsely attributed to a major
national daily. The article featured an alleged interview with a prominent
television presenter endorsing the service.
Upon expressing interest by filling
out an online form, investors were swiftly contacted by a purported financial
adviser, encouraging them to register on an unauthorized trading platform for
investments in the foreign exchange market, crypto-assets like bitcoin,
or derivatives on crypto-assets. However, when attempting to withdraw their
supposed gains, investors were requested to pay a so-called capital gains tax
in advance.
[Mise en garde]
⚠️ L’AMF et le Parquet de Paris appellent le public à la plus
grande vigilance à l’égard de l’offre frauduleuse
d’investissement en #crypto
d’Immediate Connect ➡️ https://t.co/2ESL6wrcP2#Protection
#Epargne
pic.twitter.com/iiPmdVo7No—
AMF (@AMF_actu) November
17, 2023
In English, it reads: “[Caution] The
AMF and the Paris Prosecutor’s Office urge the public to exercise the utmost
vigilance regarding the fraudulent investment offer in #crypto by Immediate
Connect.”
Blacklisting and Blocking Fraudulent Web
Addresses
The AMF has received additional
complaints regarding similar fraudulent offers from new internet addresses,
suspected to be clones. The organization has flagged 18 additional web
addresses. Some of these have already been added to the authority’s blacklists.
Others are in the analysis phase. Following a hearing at the Paris Court
of First Instance on 9 October, websites linked to fraudulent offers were
blocked at the AMF’s request. The judge’s rulings on 23 October pertain to
specific websites associated with the fraudulent scheme.
The AMF emphasizes that only companies
authorized as investment services providers in the European Union can offer
brokerage services like automated or non-automated trading in forex or
derivatives on…
