The shameless fraudsters are using emotions around farm murders to get prospective investors to fall for their scam. Picture: Shutterstock
Rhona Life, licensed with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) as a financial services provider, has a problem – one of the dubious trading platforms that promises its victims unlimited riches claims that it is part of Rhona Life (Pty) Ltd.
It states on its website that iXPFX is operated and managed by Rhona Life, uses the Rhona Life Financial Services Provider number (FSP 48061), and states in its legal documents that clients enter into an agreement with Rhona Life (Pty) Ltd.
Two iXPFX representatives claimed in telephone conversations that it is part of Rhona Life and invited Moneyweb to check the details on the FSCA website. Little did the representatives know that we had already spoken to one of the persons listed as a key individual of Rhona Life, Bertie Schamrel.
“It is a scam. We already reported it to the FSCA,” Schamrel replied, offering to send Moneyweb a copy of the complaint.
One of the salesmen at the online broking platform even supplied the name of the compliance officer as per the FSCA database, and called back a few minutes later to check if we had spoken to the compliance officer.
However, the compliance officer had never heard about the online trading company and confirmed that iXPFX was using the FSP number fraudulently.
“I am the compliance officer for Rhona Life. Rhona Life has got nothing to do with an online trading company,” she says.
“We complained to the FSCA. It is an impersonation. Is this like the Banxso thing?”
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The iXPFX website nonetheless states: “iXPFX operates under the strict oversight of the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), a testament to our commitment to offering a secure trading platform.
“Our compliance with FSCA standards assures clients of the integrity and reliability of our services, reinforcing our mission to inspire confidence and innovation in the trading sector.”
Its terms and conditions, basically a binding legal document with clients, states: “iXPFX.com is managed and operated by Rhona Life Pty. Ltd. a licensed by the South Africa FSCA, as a Financial Service Provider, under License Number 48061 (Hereinafter The ‘Company’), that provides financial services, as these are defined throughout this agreement, to you the client (hereafter also the ‘customer’, ‘client’, ‘you’), through its electronic system over the internet (hereinafter the ‘trading platforms’).
“This Agreement is entered into and between the Company and the Client (which may be a legal entity and/or a natural person) who has completed the Account Opening process and has been accepted by the Company as a Client.”
The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against iXPFX in September.
“This firm may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams.
“This firm is not authorised by us and may be targeting people in the UK,” it said in its warning.
It gets worse. Like other dubious operators, iXPFX solicits clients using fake news stories about high returns.
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iXPFX chose to produce a fake story about AfriForum head Kallie Kriel supposedly surviving an attempt on his life because he designed a trading platform to make Afrikaans farmers rich and shield them from farm murders.
Complete with pictures of protests against farm murders and police covering bodies of victims, iXPFX proclaims that Kriel invented its trading system, AfriInvest.
It says AfriInvest is reserved for Afrikaners to secure their future.
The fake news article makes the same promises as similar scams – that anybody can invest R4 500 and earn profits of R500 000 within weeks, with no risk and without lifting a finger.
Every link in the story and elsewhere on the fake news site opens the iXPFX registration page. A representative from iXPFX will call within minutes of registration.
The risk-free, automatic algorithms promised in the fake news stories are quickly exposed as lies.
iXPFX is just another platform offering risky derivative instruments on currencies, indices, shares and commodities (at best).
Most of these brokers trade against clients as a principle; statistics have shown that up to 90% of private clients will lose money, with the counter party pocketing the profit. In addition, many of the dubious online brokers manipulate price data to force positions to close automatically and profit from traders’ losses.
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In South Africa, the authorities seem powerless to stop these trading scams, despite all the legislation, rules and regulations.
The promoters openly advertise using fake news articles and operate call centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
All the provisions of Rica, Fica and KYC are useless.
In other words, the Related Information Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, and the Know Your Customer requirement to verify customer identities have no potency.
The trading scams are organised into different entities like a criminal enterprise, or different cells like a terrorist group planning an attack.
The fake news stories and videos are placed by one cell, with the “broker” claiming ignorance of that and at a loss to explain why somebody would advertise on his behalf.
The call centre agent claims ignorance too, saying that his only role is that of an “onboarding agent”.
The broker says he is not responsible for the claims and actions of the “onboarding” agents because this service is outsourced and not part of the broker.
The top people behind the scams mostly remain unknown, which in itself should be a warning to prospective investors.
Real brokers and asset managers will always disclose the identities of their owners, directors and key decisions makers. And you will be able to call them back on the numbers they use to contact you.
The telephone numbers that iXPFX uses seem to be blocked from receiving calls, and iXPFX did not respond to an email sent to the address published on its website.
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We would have loved an answer to a specific question: Why did they choose the controversial and divisive subject of farm murders to promote their scheme?
Kallie Kriel hit back at the scammers. “There are currently crooks abusing my name and faking Maroela Media’s website to persuade unsuspecting people to invest with them.
“I have never, and will never, ask people to invest in any scheme,” Kriel warns on his Facebook page.
“AfriInvest is probably a group of bush raiders abroad that use artificial intelligence to communicate in Afrikaans.”
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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