Public Statement 5 of 2023 - Fraudulent Website: A.F.S.C Aruba Financial Services Commission (2023-05-31)

Summary

This is a public warning notice issued by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (the Commission) alerting the public to a fraudulent website that impersonates the Aruba Financial Services Commission. It carries no regulatory requirements for licensees, but is intended to protect the public and market participants from being misled or defrauded.

• Fraudulent site: The website at https://arubafsc.org falsely claims to be the Aruba Financial Services Commission and has cloned content and details from the Commission's own website, www.bvifsc.vg.
• Suspicious features: The fraudulent site contains two suspicious tabs labelled Refund Reserve and Report an Issue or a Suggestion.
• No affiliation: The Commission states it has no affiliation with, and is not connected to, the fraudulent website or the Aruba Financial Services Commission, and the site's operators were never authorised to use the Commission's published information.
• Public advisory: Members of the public are advised to exercise extreme caution if solicited to visit or transact through the fraudulent website, and not to click on any of its tabs.
• Ongoing action: The Commission says it is working with relevant authorities to have the fraudulent website decommissioned.

The statement is issued under Section 37A of the Financial Services Commission Act, 2001, and is purely informational in nature, with no filing or compliance obligations imposed on regulated entities.