1 Mar 2012

Scam warning over Facebook share brokerage offer

5:52 am on 1 March 2012

The financial markets watchdog is warning people to be wary of a company illegally claiming to offer brokering services to buy shares in Facebook.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) says the company behind the offer, Makko Securities, is not registered to provide financial services in New Zealand and therefore cannot legally offer financial advice or broking services to retail investors.

Makko Securities purports to have offices in London, Singapore and the Cayman Islands, and its senior account manager is Roy Lochen.

The FMA says no shares in Facebook are available to the public at the moment, and any such offer is likely to be a scam.

Financial Markets Authority head of primary regulatory operations Sue Brown says she hasn't heard of anyone who has paid for these shares, but the authority would like to hear from anyone who has.

She says people who are considering buying or selling shares should contact an authorised financial advisor so they receive appropriate advise.