The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued three separate public warnings on 6 November 2026 about operations that used the details of real, authorised financial services providers to look legitimate. The notices name Discovery Online Trade Plus, Halifax Loans SA (Pty) Ltd and a group of individuals impersonating Aeon Investment Management (Pty) Ltd on WhatsApp. In each case the FSCA says the real firm has confirmed it has no link to the operation. The notices are listed on the regulator’s Latest News page, and BusinessTech reported them on 7 November.
Discovery Online Trade Plus used another firm’s licence number
According to the FSCA’s press release, Discovery Online Trade Plus, which the notice shortens to Discovery Plus, is “purporting to be an authorised financial services provider” and used the FSP number 51424 in its communications with potential investors. That number belongs to Gikuyu Brokers Investments (Pty) Ltd, which the FSCA says confirmed it is not associated with Discovery Plus. The notice spells the broker’s short name as “Giyuku Brokers” in places, but the registered name and the FSP number are consistent.
The FSCA says Discovery Plus is not authorised to provide financial services to the public. It adds that it is not commenting on the platform’s business, and that it could not contact the operation because no contact details were available. The FSCA’s notice does not mention Discovery Limited or Discovery Bank. BusinessTech adds its own note that Discovery Online Trade Plus “is not associated with Discovery or Discovery Bank”.
Halifax Loans SA claimed ties to an insurance broker
The second notice concerns Halifax Loans SA (Pty) Ltd, referred to as Halifax Loans. The FSCA says it is purporting to be affiliated with Halifax Insurance Brokers CC, an authorised financial services provider with FSP number 9998, and used that broker’s details when offering loans to the public. Halifax Insurance Brokers confirmed it is not associated with Halifax Loans. The regulator confirmed that Halifax Loans is not authorised to provide financial services to members of the public, and, as with Discovery Plus, it could not reach the company because no contact details were available.
Aeon Investment Management’s name was used on WhatsApp
The third notice is about people rather than a registered business. The FSCA says individuals on WhatsApp are using Aeon Investment Management’s name, physical address and company registration number to promote forex trading services. Aeon Investment Management, an authorised provider with FSP number 27126, confirmed that it is not associated with the individuals running the WhatsApp group. The FSCA says the people impersonating the firm failed to respond to its enquiries.
The Aeon notice also adds a route for reporting. Suspicious activity can be reported to the FSCA’s Ethics and Fraud Hotline on 0800 313 626, by email to fsca@behonest.co.za, or online at www.behonest.co.za.
The FSCA’s advice to the public
The three notices share the same guidance. The public should not accept financial advice, assistance or investment offers from individuals or entities the FSCA has not authorised, and authorised providers “must clearly display their authorisation status in their documentation”. If that is missing, the FSCA advises further investigation before any payment. It urges caution with unsolicited investment or trading offers, especially those communicated through social media, and says South Africans lose millions of rands to fraudsters every year and that the number of scams is growing.
The FSCA lists these red flags:
- unrealistic or exaggerated returns;
- offers made on social media platforms;
- requirements to pay for services upfront;
- requirements to pay more money to have investments returned;
- requirements to pay for training;
- claims that you must act and pay urgently; and
- vague information about the investment product.
To confirm that a provider is authorised, including its FSP number, the FSCA points people to its toll-free line on 0800 110 443 or its online search for authorised financial services providers at fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm. The fact that a number appears in a company’s marketing proves nothing on its own, as the Discovery Plus and Halifax cases show: both used real licence details belonging to someone else. A quick check is to look up the FSP number and confirm that the firm named on the register is the same firm making the offer.
Why this matters for businesses and consumers
Lenders, brokers and investment platforms with real authorisations can find their numbers reused without their knowledge, and the FSCA’s notices show the legitimate firms had to confirm they were not involved. Businesses taking a loan offer or a trading pitch should verify the provider independently before paying any fee, and finance teams approving corporate treasury or loan arrangements should apply the same check. For background on how fraud is hitting South African consumers and banks, see our reports on digital banking fraud losses in 2025 and on how Capitec traps fraud mule accounts, and our wider Regulatory & Policy coverage.
What the FSCA has not said
The notices do not say how many people dealt with these operations, whether any money was lost, or where the operations are based, and the FSCA says it cannot contact two of them. None of the three notices describes what Discovery Online Trade Plus or Halifax Loans actually sold, as the FSCA says it is not commenting on their business. Only the three named entities are covered by these notices, and the FSCA has not linked them to one another.
