New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) issued a warning Tuesday about a phone-based investment scam that uses fake economic surveys to target victims before directing them to fraudulent trading platforms, including CFDs.
New Zealand Regulators Flag Nine Fake Investment Platforms in Phone Scam Warning
The regulator flagged nine specific platforms and websites that scammers are using to steal money from New Zealanders, including Barox International, Alpen Partners International, and Luminary FX.
Here's how the fraud works: Victims first get a call asking them to participate in what seems like a legitimate survey about confidence in New Zealand's economy. The scammers use these initial conversations to collect personal details about their targets.
Days or weeks later, the same fraudsters call back from different phone numbers with what they pitch as exciting investment opportunities. They often sound professional and knowledgeable about financial markets, which helps convince people to hand over money.
“The scammers will eventually direct the victim to an online trading platform where they can invest money. Such trading platforms are fake,” the FMA explained in the newest warnings.
These platforms are completely fraudulent, but the criminals know enough about New Zealand's banking systems to walk people through making their first deposits. Problems arise when investors try to get their money back.
The fake platforms either don't return any funds or demand additional fees and payments to release the money. Even when victims pay these extra charges, they never see their original investment again.
Related: Five Tiny Trades, One Massive Fine After Long Investigation
FMA Recommends “Extreme Caution”
The FMA is telling New Zealanders to be extremely careful about unsolicited calls or messages promoting financial products. The regulator recommends checking the Financial Service Providers Register to verify whether any company is actually licensed to offer investment services in the country.
Complete list of flagged platforms:
- Alpen Partners International (alpenpartners.com)
- Atadel Fund (atadelfund.com)
- Barox International (baroxinternational.com)
- Cliff Associates (cliffassociates.com)
- Investment Corb (investcorb.com)
- Luminary FX (luminaryfx.pro)
- Primo Asset Management (primoam.com)
- Royal Ameris (royalameris.com)
- Silver Arrow Wealth Management (silver-arrow-wealth-management.ch)
The FMA warns that people should "be suspicious of any phone 'surveys' asking about the economy or investments" since these could be the first step in the scam. All nine platforms were added to the regulator's warning list on July 9, 2025.
The FMA remains active in combating investment fraud. In February, the regulator identified around 100 fraudulent trading platforms, including clones of well-known brokers such as ATFX, IG, and Saxo. Zapytaj ChatGPT Select 70 more words to run Humanizer.
