Investors Beware of Entity Calling Itself "U.S. Securities and Equities Administration"
May 1, 2010
Investor Alert: Investors Beware of Entity Calling Itself “U.S. Securities and Equities Administration”
The staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is issuing this Investor Alert about an entity calling itself the “U.S. Securities and Equities Administration” and other similar names, including the “U.S. Securities Administration” or the “U.S. Securities Bureau.” In conversations with members of the public, the entity may have represented that its address is 225 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The entity also claims to operate a website at www.gov.ussea.us. It appears that this entity may be requesting up-front fees to remove purported restrictions on shares of stock that investors own, or to release funds purportedly being held by the U.S. government on investors’ behalf.
Investors should beware that these entities are not United States government agencies and are not affiliated with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
You can find the correct contact information for the SEC in the Contact Us section of our website and on SEC Division Homepages. If you're ever unsure whether you're dealing with someone from the real SEC, use our online Question Form to ask us. It's not hard to figure out who the real regulators are and how you can contact them. You'll find a list of international securities regulators on the website of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and a directory of state and provincial regulators in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. on the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). If someone encourages you to verify information about a deal with an entity that doesn't appear on these lists, you should be wary.
For additional tips on investing wisely and avoiding fraud, please visit the following web pages on SEC.gov:
Investor Alert: SEC Warns of Government Impersonators
