Alert: Beware of scammers pretending to be from COL Financial Group

​The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) has received reports that certain individuals or groups of persons are falsely representing themselves as personnel or representatives of COL Financial Group, Inc. (“COL Financial”) to scam the investing public.

Based on information gathered, scammers impersonated current or former COL personnel by using their names, photos, and even fake documents bearing COL’s letterhead to deceive victims. In these schemes, victims were told that funds they had previously lost in other scams had been “reinvested” with COL. The victims were then required to pay multiple fees, such as so-called “tax fees,” in order to withdraw their supposed investments. However, no funds were ever returned, and the scammers simply kept imposing additional payments until the victims stopped complying.

In several incidents, the scammers sent fake COL IDs and fabricated documents, provided fraudulent bank account details, particularly CIMB accounts falsely claimed to belong to COL, into which victims were instructed to deposit funds, created fake COL websites to mislead complainants into believing they were monitoring actual investments, and threatened victims with account suspension or forced sale of proceeds if they refused to pay additional charges.
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COL Financial has confirmed that these documents, websites, and communications did not originate from the company. COL has advised complainants to file reports with the proper law enforcement authorities such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The public is hereby strongly advised to exercise caution in dealing with any individual or group of persons soliciting investments and falsely claiming to represent COL Financial. The public is further advised not to invest or to stop investing in such fraudulent schemes, and to avoid transacting with unverified accounts, links, or persons posing as COL personnel.

These scams constitute investment fraud which is prohibited under the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA). Investment fraud includes deceptive solicitations such as Ponzi schemes, advance-fee scams, or any unauthorized investment activity. Persons acting as salesmen, brokers, dealers, agents, representatives, recruiters, influencers, or enablers of these fraudulent activities may be held criminally liable under Section 11 of the FCPA and Section 28 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC). Violations are penalized with fines of up to Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000), imprisonment of up to twenty one (21) years, or both, pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.

For any information regarding these scams, you may send your reports to the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) through email at [email protected] or visit the EIPD at the 9/F, SEC Headquarters, 7907 Makati Avenue, Salcedo Village, Brgy. Bel-Air, Makati City.