Big Fraud Detected: SEBI unearths miscreants using forged/fake communication pretending to be its officials—How you can stay safe

Financial Fraud Alert: Unearthing a big financial fraud, capital market regulator SEBI on Wednesday cautioned the public against certain individuals illegally using its official letter head, logo and seal to demand penalty levies while pretending to be its officials. The market watchdog came across instances wherein the sender issued falsely created notices through social media to make the demands. 

SEBI detects fraudsters red-handed; miscreants issued forged certificates to avoid strict action

SEBI came across certain instances wherein the “sender issued notices through Social Media Platforms asking for payment of fine to prevent SEBI from taking action against the recipient, sender forged Sale Certificate to show that he was a buyer of PACL property, sender issued fake Certificate of use of third party vendor account”.

SEBI cautions public against fraudsters involving fake documents to project themselves as its officials

Cautioning against such fraud, SEBI urged the public to exercise caution upon receiving any communication seemingly from its side.

5 things to know to verify authenticity of SEBI communication

The market regulator enables users to verify all its communication through its portal, sebi.gov.in. 

SEBI stated the following while urging the public to check the authenticity of any communication seemingly from its side, in order to avoid falling prey to such fraudulent activities: 

• Every SEBI order bears a unique reference number: This number is available on the SEBI portal under the ‘orders’ section listed under ‘enforcement’ on its website (Home / Enforcement / Orders). 
• Every SEBI recovery certificate is available on its portal: This certificate can be located under the ‘recovery proceedings’ section listed under ‘enforcement’. 
• Every official communication bears a unique document ID: Every piece of communication issued by SEBI—like a letter, a notice or a summon—bears a unique document ID, which can be verified using the ‘authenticate document number issued by SEBI’ tool on the portal.
• Every SEBI official’s contact details are available online: SEBI officials have their contact details—such as email ID and telephone number—listed online on the SEBI portal. These details can be found and verified in the ‘Sebi directory’ section under ‘about’ on the website. 
• SEBI officials use ‘@sebi.gov.in’ email IDs: SEBI issues official electronic communication through its official email IDs, carrying its domain address “@sebi.gov.in”. 

SEBI cautions public against fraud | Here is what you can do to stay safe

SEBI has urged investors and the public at large to verify all communication using the above channels and tools through its portal, in order to prevent falling prey to any fraudulent activity. 

“Investors are advised to be vigilant while dealing with communication/senders demanding information or payment” on SEBI’s behalf, it noted.