DAVAO CITY – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned against a “text scam” using the name of President Duterte to victimize the public by sending them a message that they have won P750,000 through an “electronic raffle.”
In an advisory released by SEC on Thursday, the agency said the “President: Rodrigo Duterte Charity Foundation” is not registered as a corporation while the Policy and Specialized Supervision Sector of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) confirmed that the electronic raffle is fake.
The agency said the alleged foundation asks money from recipients in order to claim the prize money.
It reminded the public to report text scams immediately to the National Telecommunications Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, BSP, Department of Trade and Industry, and SEC.
The SEC has likewise issued an advisory against four companies soliciting investments from the public. These are Sharelink Ads and Cryptotrading, Cashdrop, Coinmax.PH, and Lokalplate.
It said Sharelink Ads and Cryptotrading, headed by a certain Cedric V. Suarez, is allegedly engaged in digital marketing and cryptocurrency trading where a member pays P1,500 per account, and earns through Sharelink Ads Bonus where a member-investor shall earn a total of P1,500 or P150 daily by just sharing the company’s link to his/her Facebook account for 10 days or 100 percent return in 10 days; direct referral bonus where a member-investor shall earn P150 for every direct recruit; pairing income where a member-investor shall earn P200 for every pairing under his/her structure; leveling bonus where a member-investor shall earn P200 per level on his/her structure regardless whether the downline is a direct recruit or not; and crypto trading bonus where a member-investor shall earn P50 per day for a total of 60 days or a total of P3,000 or 200 percent return in 60 days.
It added that Cashdrop scams the public to invest online or through the internet; Coinmax.ph offers a scheme where a member is told to invest promising high returns of 90% to 150%; and Lokalplate offers investments to the public under the guise of franchising where a franchisee invests P12,888 to earn P40,000 to P80,000 per month and earns through commissions, among others.
The agency maintained that Securities Regulation Code (SRC) requires that these securities be duly registered and that the concerned corporation and/or its agents have appropriate registration and/or license to sell such securities to the public since such scheme involves the selling of securities in the form of investments.