IN separate advisories, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public not to invest in CashBaka, Hero Mining International Group, and BitBankUps.com as the three entities have not secured the license to solicit investments.
According to the regulator, the three are neither registered as a corporation nor a partnership with the SEC. It also found them to have been soliciting investments without securing the necessary license as prescribed under the Securities and Regulation Code.
CashBaka has been promising the public a 150% to 200% interest within 30 days and a return of capital within 15 days. Investors who put in P500 are promised to get a P25 income per day, while those who put in P10,500 are told to expect a P2,170 income per day.
Meanwhile, Hero Mining offers seven investment options to its investors, starting from $10 up to $789, depending on the chosen scheme. Investors are promised to earn from P1,000 up to P144,905 with a 60% bonus from the profit of every successful recruit.
BitBank has been enticing the public to invest in its virtual currency called BBT.
According to the SEC, the entity has been promising a guaranteed profit through commissions with an initial capital of $100 to $5,000 in the form of a US dollar-pegged cryptocurrency like Tether.
Investors of BitBank were also promised referral bonuses each time they successfully recruited an individual to invest.
In a separate advisory, the commission also warned the public to not engage in advance-fee loan scams wherein victims are asked to pay a certain amount in exchange for the release of a loan.
“An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and one of the most common types of confidence trick,” the SEC.
According to the regulator, the scam promises the victim a large sum of money, in return for a required small up-front payment.
“If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears,” the SEC explained.
The commission said that people who are engaged in these scams are liable for the violation of Article 315 on swindling under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
