Usually, the victims are:
These factors lead to the victims being easily manipulated via promises of massive returns and/or other gains.
A scam is a term used to describe any fraudulent business or scheme that takes money or other goods from an unsuspecting person. A swindle is described as the act of getting money dishonestly from someone by deceiving or cheating him. If a person comes across a scam, he should contact the police immediately. If he needs assistance or more information, he should contact the FSC Mauritius, the BOM or other relevant authorities.
The FSC Mauritius is committed to take measures to protect consumers of financial services other than banking. Consequently, it will take necessary measures to suppress illegal, dishonourable and improper practices in relation to any activity in the said sector. Where the Chief Executive of the FSC Mauritius has reasonable cause to believe that a licensee is carrying out an activity that may cause prejudice to the reputation of Mauritius, he may order that an investigation be conducted. Similarly, a special investigation may be conducted in cases where an entity is operating without a licence.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organisers often promise to invest someone’s money and generate high returns with little or no risk. But in many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters do not invest the money. Instead, they use it to pay those who invested earlier and may keep some for themselves.
With little or no legitimate earnings, Ponzi schemes require a constant flow of new money to survive. When it becomes hard to recruit new investors, or when large numbers of existing investors cash out, these schemes tend to collapse.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent and criminal activity. The FSC Mauritius will take necessary actions as soon as it becomes aware of a Ponzi scheme. Section 44 of the Financial Services Act (FSA) vests the Chief Executive of the Commission with the power to order that investigations are conducted into the business of the entity has carried out, is carrying or is likely to carry out any activity which may cause prejudice to the soundness and stability of the financial system of Mauritius or to the reputation of Mauritius or which may threaten the integrity of the system such as a Ponzi Schemes.
Keeping abreast of and meeting international standards and norms have become a necessity for regulators. The FSC Mauritius is a member of international standards setting bodies namely the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS). The FSC Mauritius continuously adheres to these international norms and standards to foster transparency, market efficiency, and the effectiveness of its supervision.
If someone believes that s/he is victim of a scam or has been contacted by perpetrators of scams, there are steps that s/he can take to protect her/himself:
Phishing- It is the act of acquiring sensitive information such as username, password and credit card details by acting as a financial entity through the use of electronic communications devices.
The main intention of fraudsters is to go on ‘phishing expeditions’ by luring and trying to hook potential victims from a sea of internet users. This process is usually conducted through the use of emails.
Shopping on the internet is regarded as being economical and time convenient but there are also many dangers associated with it. Hackers can get possession of someone’s credit card details and other sensitive information and hence misuse them.
Ponzi scheme- It refers to a fraudulent act where an operator convinces and attracts investors to invest in their money in a scheme promising that their money will be invested and they will earn a bigger profit in a short period of time as compared to any other investment on the market.
In fact, no investment is being made and the existing customers benefit from a sum of money upon the recruitment of new investors, from the deposit made by them. This type of scam relies on continuous recruitment of new investors.
This is when someone receives an email or text message informing him that he has won a lottery or a prize and in order to claim this prize, he should send a specific amount of money to a mentioned address.
In reality, there is no such lottery, and the person is merely being tricked out of the money that he is being requested to send.
This refers to a situation where someone is contacted by the scammer telling him that he has inherited the fortune of a deceased distant relative. In order to obtain the inheritance, the person is requested to first settle the legal fees. In fact, there is no inheritance and the aim is to scam the person of the amount claimed as legal fees.
This refers to the copying of an existing website design or script to create a new one. The aim of such websites is to get hold of personal information such as card details, addresses and emails and eventually use such information for fraudulent purposes.
It is a fact that nowadays many people use social media to make investments and this in turn gives an opportunity to fraudsters to trick them of their money.
Therefore, if someone notices a new post on their wall or receives emails from unknown people, they should be extremely cautious and not respond to these proposals. Scams in disguise of emails are being received from scammers either on personal email or office email address. In case someone encounters such situations, they must make sure that they do not respond and report the matter when they receive unknown emails asking to contact them because of an unclaimed heritage from a distant relative, for example. It is important to be alert when emails are received pertaining to investment opportunities in particular projects.
‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’’
The public should take precautions and should be well aware and warned of the different traps that they can fall in. To inform and protect consumers and investors against illegal, dishonourable and improper practices, market abuse and financial fraud in the financial services and global business sectors, authorities are continuously trying to combat scams and inform consumers to be protected against such cases.
The FSC Mauritius uses investigative powers under its relevant Acts in accordance with natural justice and in line with the processes detailed in its Enforcement Manual. Since it is a criminal offence to carry out financial services without the appropriate licence/authorisation from the FSC Mauritius, following investigation by the FSC Mauritius, such matters will be referred to the Police for any actions deemed appropriate at their end.
The AML/CFT Handbook was issued on 13 January 2020. This Handbook provides guidelines to assist financial institutions in applying national measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and in complying with the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002 (‘FIAMLA’) and the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Regulations 2018 (‘FIAML Regulations 2018’). Further to the first AML/CFT supervisory cycle conducted in 2020-2021, the FSC Mauritius has updated the AML/CFT Handbook to assist financial institutions in conducting an effective AML/CFT Independent Audit and in implementing an adequate Business Risk Assessment.
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