Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) today issued a warning of financial fraud spreading on WhatsApp.
The widespread messaging system can become a vehicle for illicit offers which, by entering in the smartphones of the undifferentiated public and improperly leveraging well-known names in international finance such as ‘Morgan Stanley’ or ‘Blackrock’, can mislead savers and induce them to fall into a trap in which they risk losing their money.
Consob, after having alerted against the pitfalls of online trading ‘video games’ and scams circulating on social networks, now also highlights the risks associated with messages spread through WhatsApp.
The pattern is always the same: unauthorised operators promote seemingly profitable offers on the web. Behind these offers, however, a scam may be hidden. In this specific case, the brands of Morgan Stanley and Blackrock, two large institutional investors whose investment strategies are being replicated, are being used as a lure.
Consob once again draws the attention of savers to the need to take all necessary precautions in their evaluation of financial offers, making use first and foremost of the ‘Watch for Scams!’ section on the website www.consob.it, where the basic rules for avoiding traps are indicated.
