New
Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) issued a warning Tuesday about a
phone-based investment scam that uses fake economic surveys to target victims
before directing them to fraudulent trading platforms, including CFDs.

New Zealand Regulators
Flag Nine Fake Investment Platforms in Phone Scam Warning

The
regulator flagged nine specific platforms and websites that scammers are using
to steal money from New Zealanders, including Barox International, Alpen
Partners International, and Luminary FX.

Here’s how
the fraud works: Victims first get a call asking them to participate in what
seems like a legitimate survey about confidence in New Zealand’s economy. The
scammers use these initial conversations to collect personal details about
their targets.

Days or
weeks later, the same fraudsters call back from different phone numbers with
what they pitch as exciting investment opportunities. They often sound
professional and knowledgeable about financial markets, which helps convince
people to hand over money.

“The
scammers will eventually direct the victim to an online trading platform where
they can invest money. Such trading platforms are fake,” the FMA explained in
the newest warnings.

These
platforms are completely fraudulent, but the criminals know enough about New
Zealand’s banking systems to walk people through making their first deposits. Problems
arise when investors try to get their money back.

The fake
platforms either don’t return any funds or demand additional fees and payments
to release the money. Even when victims pay these extra charges, they never see
their original investment again.

FMA Recommends “Extreme
Caution”

The FMA is
telling New Zealanders to be extremely careful about unsolicited calls or
messages promoting financial products. The regulator recommends checking the
Financial Service Providers Register to verify whether any company is actually
licensed to offer investment services in the country.

Complete
list of flagged platforms:

• Alpen
  Partners International (alpenpartners.com)
• Atadel Fund
  (atadelfund.com)
• Barox
  International (baroxinternational.com)
• Cliff
  Associates (cliffassociates.com)
• Investment
  Corb (investcorb.com)
• Luminary FX
  (luminaryfx.pro)
• Primo Asset
  Management (primoam.com)
• Royal
  Ameris (royalameris.com)
• Silver
  Arrow Wealth Management (silver-arrow-wealth-management.ch)

The FMA
warns that people should “be suspicious of any phone ‘surveys’ asking
about the economy or investments” since these could be the first step in
the scam. All nine platforms were added to the regulator’s warning list on July
9, 2025.

The FMA remains active in combating investment fraud. In February, the regulator identified around 100 fraudulent trading platforms, including clones of well-known brokers such as ATFX, IG, and Saxo. Zapytaj ChatGPT Select 70 more words to run Humanizer.