The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint that Fysobeck Investment company (“Fysobeck”) may have engaged in fraud. The company is believed to have used the websites fysobec.com, and possibly fysobeck.com, neither of which are active as of the posting of this alert.
Limited information was provided regarding Fysobeck. However, further research revealed the company claimed to have an office in Australia, and purported to offer “an award-winning platform”, for online trading in foreign exchange, stocks and cryptocurrency. The company provided four investment plans, each offering a daily profit, ranging from 2.5 percent to 50 percent depending on the plan selected. It appears the company further claimed to have provided investment services for over a decade, and that more than $800,000 had already been invested with Fysobeck Investment. Notably, website registration records indicate that domain names, “fysobec.com” and “fysobeck.com”, were not registered until 2023. Additionally, it does not appear the company is a registered business in the U.S. or Australia.
The complainant, who invested $410 through Fysobeck, was reportedly unable to withdraw funds from the platform after investing. Instead, the investor was prompted to pay various fees, including a mining and gas fee, a conversion fee, and a “compilation” fee, prior to the release of funds. Each time the investor paid one fee, a new fee was demanded. Ultimately, the investor paid at least $945 in fees, but did not receive any money in return. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
This appears to be what is commonly called “Advanced Fee Fraud”, which can take many forms. Learn more about advance fee fraud and social media and investment fraud.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI.
To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers