Suspected Fraud Involving Persons Impersonating FMA “Admin Officer”

The New Zealand’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) has issued a warning today about an individual by the name of Evan Francisco, who purported to be an 'Admin Officer' from the FMA, calling residents in the country to offer assistance with the recovery of funds invested in a previous scam.

The regulator highlighted that it does not undertake activities of this nature and are concerned this has the hallmarks of a recovery scam, which usually targets people who have previously lost money to scams asking them to pay upfront fees to recover the funds.

There is no individual employed at the FMA by the name of Evan Francisco. There is also no such role at the FMA as an "Admin Officer". The FMA does not make unsolicited outbound calls of this nature to members of the public.

The watchdog recommends anyone who receives unexpected contact in these circumstances to hang up immediately.