The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday warned the public against dealing with a “fake” entity allegedly posing as the legitimate Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and CT Loan Cash Loan and Credit Company.
The SEC said in a statement the investment scheme offered by the fake PIFA Facebook account was not registered with the commission.
It said the fake account, which is not in any way related or connected to the legitimate PIFA, was enticing the public to invest between P1,000 and P50,000, with a promise of a guaranteed return of 250 percent to 340 percent in four days.
The company claims that it invests the money in the stock market. It also offers a referral bonus to its members equivalent to 15 percent of the amount they invested.
The SEC said the investment contracts being offered by the company were not registered with the commission and that the company was violating the Securities Regulation Code.
The SEC advised the public against transacting with CT Loan Cash Loan and Credit Company, which uses the webpage CT Link, as it is not registered as a lending company and is not authorized to operate an online lending platform.
It issued the advisory following a report from a registered company named CT Link Systems Inc. (CTLSI) that the CT Link webpage, representing itself to be owned and operated by the corporation, is engaged in lending without authority from the commission.
CTLSI said it is not engaged in the business of lending, developing online applications and is not involved with CT Loan Cash Loan and Credit Company
The SEC said it remained unwavering in its efforts to stamp out illegal investment-taking activities through financial literacy campaigns and advisories to the public.
