CySEC Warns Against Fraudsters Impersonating the Regulator
- Scammers are trying to trick investors into paying fees for the settlement of fake compensation claims.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term. Read this Term) has been made aware of fraudsters that are claiming to be representatives of the regulator in an attempt to solicit personal information from consumers and scam investors.
According to a statement released by the Securities regulator, the fraudsters are claiming to be officers or appointed representatives of CySEC. By doing this, they are trying to scam investors into paying fees in exchange for the settlement of fake compensation claims.
Specifically, the most recent scam that has come to the regulator's attention is where an individual using the name Christos Sofroniou tries to get recipients to pay legal fees to take part in fake aid programs for the recovery of potential losses.
In this email, the fraudster uses the email address contact@sofroniou-legal.org and the telephone numbers +35725654263 and +35799711917. As a result, CySEC has again reminded consumers that, as a matter of policy, CySEC will never: “send unsolicited correspondence to investors or members of the public, nor will it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise.”
Furthermore, the watchdog reminds investors that it does not have the authority nor jurisdiction to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors. It also doesn’t have the right to appoint a representative to do so.
Typical Attributes of CySEC Scams
While this is not the first time fraudsters have tried to impersonate CySEC to trick investors, and the different scams do vary in tactics, the regulator has found the following attributes to be similar across the scams.
Firstly, the scammer’s preferred method of contact is email, and they will try to target the clients of CySEC-registered firms. The emails will often look professional, including CySEC’s logo, address, official stamp and will contain a fraudulent copy of a CySEC officials’ signature.
From here, the scammers then try and collect personal information from investors, especially phone numbers so they can continue the scam via telephone.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term. Read this Term) has been made aware of fraudsters that are claiming to be representatives of the regulator in an attempt to solicit personal information from consumers and scam investors.
According to a statement released by the Securities regulator, the fraudsters are claiming to be officers or appointed representatives of CySEC. By doing this, they are trying to scam investors into paying fees in exchange for the settlement of fake compensation claims.
Specifically, the most recent scam that has come to the regulator's attention is where an individual using the name Christos Sofroniou tries to get recipients to pay legal fees to take part in fake aid programs for the recovery of potential losses.
In this email, the fraudster uses the email address contact@sofroniou-legal.org and the telephone numbers +35725654263 and +35799711917. As a result, CySEC has again reminded consumers that, as a matter of policy, CySEC will never: “send unsolicited correspondence to investors or members of the public, nor will it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise.”
Furthermore, the watchdog reminds investors that it does not have the authority nor jurisdiction to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors. It also doesn’t have the right to appoint a representative to do so.
Typical Attributes of CySEC Scams
While this is not the first time fraudsters have tried to impersonate CySEC to trick investors, and the different scams do vary in tactics, the regulator has found the following attributes to be similar across the scams.
Firstly, the scammer’s preferred method of contact is email, and they will try to target the clients of CySEC-registered firms. The emails will often look professional, including CySEC’s logo, address, official stamp and will contain a fraudulent copy of a CySEC officials’ signature.
From here, the scammers then try and collect personal information from investors, especially phone numbers so they can continue the scam via telephone.