The financial market regulator in Malta has become the latest to face impersonation by fraudsters. In an announcement yesterday (Tuesday), the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) alerted that fraudsters are impersonating regulatory officials and “circulating documents and emails claiming to originate from the MFSA.”

“The Authority encourages the general public to remain vigilant and exercise caution when receiving unsolicited emails, even if they appear to come from a familiar source,” the regulator added in the warning.

Indications of Scams

The regulator even listed some “non-exhaustive… indications” to identify scams, which include unexpected communication from the regulator and the quality of the messages. The regulator also cautioned against “urgent, threatening, or demanding language requesting payments, personal information, financial details, or requests to click on suspicious links.”

The MFSA is not the first financial market regulator to face the menace of impersonation by scammers. Its counterpart in Cyprus issued multiple warnings to scammers impersonating its officials and websites, trying to extort payment or personal information from victims of other financial scams.

The impersonation technique is so rampant that the regulator in New Zealand had to issue multiple public warnings against the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission impersonators targeting traders in the country.

Raising Awareness

“The MFSA would like to remind the general public not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorized to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator,” the regulator in the island of Malta added.

“Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.”

Meanwhile, regulators are not the only ones being impersonated by scammers. Legitimate brokers often face clone websites and even fake accounts on social media. However, there is no solid strategy to tackle them except to report them to regulators. Some brokers, like Dukascopy and Equiti, even regularly issue public notices to warn against clones. Regulators also regularly issue lists of illegal financial services platforms, including clones, while only the one in Italy is blocking access to those domains.