FSCA warns of sophisticated scam using regulator’s identity

South Africa’s market conduct regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has issued an urgent public warning following the discovery of a sophisticated “cloning scam” targeting both local and international investors.

In an official enforcement notice released on Monday, the watchdog said unknown fraudsters are actively assuming the corporate identity of the regulator and the personal identity of its sitting commissioner, Unathi Kamlana.

The syndicate has also gone so far as to impersonate external public agencies, including the Financial and Fiscal Commission, to systematically commit financial fraud.

Anatomy of the cloning scam

According to the regulator, the scam is primarily carried out through digital channels.

The fraudsters have successfully configured a fraudulent FSCA email address, which they are using to approach targeted members of the public across local and global jurisdictions.

The primary mechanism of the fraud relies on advance-fee demands.

In unsolicited correspondence, the perpetrators ask recipients to make upfront payments, falsely claiming the fees are needed to secure the release of funds supposedly owed to them.

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The regulator immediately moved to clarify its strict operational mandates, reminding the public that it has no jurisdiction or procedural basis to solicit money to clear capital payouts.

“The FSCA does not request payments from members of the public to facilitate the release of funds. The public is warned against responding to such requests. The FSCA and Kamlana deny any involvement or association with the impersonators.”

Active investigations and public vigilance

The use of cloned identities, where legitimate financial institutions or regulatory executives are mimicked to siphon funds from unsuspecting targets, remains a persistent threat to the financial sector.

The FSCA confirmed it has officially launched an investigation to uncover the individuals behind the fraudulent email addresses and external agency cloning.

The regulator said that its initial attempts to confront the syndicate directly were stonewalled, adding that “the impersonators were unavailable to FSCA queries on the contact details provided”.

The authority has urged both local and international consumers to remain vigilant and to scrutinise any unexpected communication claiming to originate from the commissioner’s office or the FSCA executive committee.

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