The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday advised investors against dealing with six companies which were reportedly soliciting investments from the public without the required license.
It identified the firms as WebMining, Oyala, BKC Trading, Winvest, Mazama and Meta Trade.
The SEC said that based on its investigation, these six firms were not registered with the commission and were also not licensed to sell investment contracts to the public.
“The commission remains unwavering in its efforts to stamp out illegal investment-taking activities through financial literacy campaigns and advisories to the public,” it said.
It said in an advisory these groups were enticing the public to either register on their website/mobile application or engage in trading with promised lucrative returns on investments.
“Such actions resemble a pyramid/Ponzi scheme, where investors earn through recruitment fees instead of the sale of actual products/services, and investors are paid using the contribution of new members,” the SEC said.
Meta Trade, as posted online, offers three investment plans to interested investors. For a minimum investment of P500 to P100,000, an investor may earn five percent after five days, 70 percent after 10 days and 400 percent after 30 days. An investor can also earn 5-percent referral commission, while leaders can get P200 daily allowance.
Mazama, which lures investors through its social media accounts and mobile application, also offers daily interest rates of 7.68 percent to 16.5 percent for investments ranging from P500 to P1 million.
Meanwhile, Winvest allegedly earns profit through Binance futures trading. It promises returns of up to 3.5 percent daily or up to 50 percent earnings in just 14 days for investments of P500 to P100,000.
BKC Trading was also found to be also offering investments contracts to the public through its website. For investments ranging from P30,000 to P1 million, an investor may earn 12 percent up 36 percent within three to six months.
Oyala is claiming to be one of the largest conglomerates in the country with investments in retail, education, real estate, banking, telecommunications, water, infrastructure, renewable energy, information technology, automotive, healthcare, management and business process outsourcing.
It offers three investment plans with investments ranging from P370 to P100,000. An investor can also earn from direct referral.
Web Mining is also enticing investors through its website by offering six investment types worth P500. Investors are promised earnings of P3,750 for 120 days and P10,950 for 365 days.
