SEC goes after XTrade.com, warns public against it

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against a bogus electronic trading platform that goes by the name XTrade. com, which offers different kinds of securities.

SEC said it has received information that a Filipino investor accessed and invested money in XTrade.com, an electronic trading platform that offers securities such as Contracts for Difference (CFD), indices, commodities, foreign exchange, shares, Exchange Traded Funds, and bonds.

"For the information of the general public, XTrade.com is not registered with SEC as a corporation or as a partnership. It has no license to issue or sell securities in the Philippines," SEC pointed out.

"Consequently, XTrade.com and its officers, salesmen, and agents are not allowed by law to engage with potential investors and offer all kinds of securities mentioned above," it further said.

It was reported last week that SEC has also fired at the operators of illegal lending activities circulating online and has warned the public to exercise caution in dealing with them.

"Anyone who is desperately looking for money could be easily maneuvered by these bogus or pseudo lending companies," SEC stressed.

These unregistered lending companies operate through popular and free social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like.

These firms, according to SEC, employ typical lending scheme where borrowers are asked to provide their general and personal information.

Thereafter, they are required to deposit certain amount of money as "processing fee." However, after depositing the money, the companies close all communication threads with the borrowers and delete all negative comments against them.