
Campaign of the Financial Supervision Commission
Check the list of licensed investment firms
To the listNewsMany people turn to financial markets for investment purposes - whether for a new home, for profit, to send their children to prestigious universities, or to secure their future in retirement.
There are many real opportunities to invest our money with a higher rate of return than inflation in the Internet era. The most important rule when investing in the capital market is to pay attention to the fact that the persons we use for this purpose – investment intermediaries – in Bulgaria are necessarily licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission and this can be easily verified.
The Financial Supervision Commission regulates the way in which financial services in the non-banking sector are offered and sold to consumers.
This site was created to facilitate investors in the investment process by providing them with useful and complete information and protecting them from financial fraud.
What you can do to avoid becoming a victim of investment fraud:
Ask Questions – It is not enough to simply ask for information from promoters. Take the time to do your own research by researching who your promoter is regulated by.
Research Before You Invest – Unsolicited emails, phone calls, and pop-up ads on the internet should never be used as the sole source of information for your investment decisions. It is wise to understand the business of the company offering you financial services before investing. Even if you know the people advertising financial services to you, take the time to research the company they represent.
Always ask and verify who the regulator of the intermediary is. Who is trying to contact you offering you investment services. Be very wary of unsolicited offers, especially when you cannot find information about the company online. Online advertising of high-yield foreign investments can be a “scheme” usually associated with “offshore institutions” whose ultimate owners are virtually untraceable.
Protect your social media profiles from phishing and always report unsolicited offers and/or unregulated financial services to delovodstvo@fsc.bg.
1. Unsolicited calls or texts. 2. No indication of who the regulator is. 3. High returns are offered.
Unlicensed investment broker scams begin with a promotion or advertisement, such as an intriguing online video or email, followed by a seemingly innocent request to provide your phone number and email address.
The purpose of the promotion is to make you believe that there is an exciting opportunity that requires you to act immediately or you will miss out. Think carefully before giving the promoters your phone number or email address – it could be a scam! Promoters often try to convince you that the investment is legitimate by not asking for money upfront or by telling you that the investment is virtually risk-free. They convince you that all you have to do is give them your phone number and email address, create an account or log into an online portal. After you register, you start receiving unsolicited offers for so-called “can’t-miss” investment opportunities. You may start receiving phone calls from call centers, there will be attempts to befriend you, and this could lure you into an investment scam. Scammers may also add your details and contact information to a list of names and contact information of other people who have registered. This list of contacts and names may then be sold – including your phone number and email address – to other scammers who will target you for other scams. All of this leads to your investments being diverted from legitimate and secure investment opportunities.
ONLY TRUST INVESTMENT ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONALS
Choosing a specific licensed investment intermediary to trust in the investment process and choosing the most suitable investment for you are the two most important decisions. If you have any questions for us, do not hesitate to call our toll-free investor line at 0800 40 444, or fill out our online question form at: delovodstvo@fsc.bg.
The most important question you need to answer before signing any contract and especially before transferring money is whether the person you will entrust your funds to is licensed by the Financial Supervisory Authority or another state securities regulator from another EU member state. Providing funds to a person who is not a licensed investment intermediary is an extremely risky action and we urge you not to do so.