Market regulator launches ‘SEBI Check’ to counter scams: Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey
Market regulator launches ‘SEBI Check’ to counter scams: Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey
He warned investors of entities falsely offering guaranteed returns and routing payments through QR codes or cloned mobile apps
Sensing the country’s retail investor base rising to over 140 million, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI, stated that the regulator has intensified efforts to narrow the gap between basic awareness and informed investing.
While addressing the gathering at the Outlook Money’s 40After40 event, Pandey explained that while technology made investing more accessible and inclusive, several new investors were entering markets with moderate understanding of risks. This left them vulnerable to mis-selling, scams and risks they don’t fully comprehend.
Citing SEBI’s recent investor survey, the Chairman added, “General awareness about securities markets is merely the first step in the knowledge ladder. There is a gap between awareness and informed participation. Trust matters even more today because participation, especially retail, is expanding rapidly.”
He informed that the markets regulator had reinforced its response to a growing number of scams and cyber frauds. These involved entities falsely claiming to be SEBI-registered and offering guaranteed returns, often routing payments through QR codes or cloned mobile apps.
Thus, to counter such scams the regulator has introduced ‘SEBI Check’, a facility that allows investors to verify payment details of registered intermediaries within seconds.
It has also mandated a new UPI handle structure for intermediaries collecting investor funds, with verified handles carrying a unique “@valid” identifier.
Pandey furthered that even as stock exchanges were directed to maintain whitelists of authorized broker applications, SEBI was monitoring digital platforms for misleading investment content and escalating such material for takedown.
