On 6-11-2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India issued a notification intensifying efforts to Combat Online Investment Scams, Calls for Greater Collaboration from Social Media Platforms.
Background:
This initiative is in alignment with the global call to action by the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
On 21-5-2025, the International Organization of Securities Commissions highlighted the critical role of platform providers in combating online harm and urged them to enhance efforts to reduce the risk of financial harm to investors.
Efforts made by Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’):
Supporting the recommendations of International Organization of Securities Commissions, SEBI called upon platforms to immediately prioritize and fast track the following measures:
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Mandatory Advertiser Verification in securities market domain to ensure that only SEBI registered entities can advertise investment products and services.
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Verified Status through clear labelling of Registered Intermediary Apps to regulate trading applications available on app store to help investors differentiate them from fraudulent apps.
SEBI further advises investors to exercise extreme caution:
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Verify registration of entities at- https://www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html
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Carry out transactions only through authentic trading apps of SEBI registered intermediaries after verifying at- https://investor.sebi.gov.in/Investor-support.html
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Use Validated UPI Handles:
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“@valid” UPI IDs of SEBI-registered investor facing at intermediaries;
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“SEBI Check” platform;
by visiting https://siportal.sebi.gov.in/intermediary/sebi-checkor through Saarthi app, for secure investor payments.
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