**Summary:**
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has issued a public caution (PR No. 602025) regarding the impersonation of SEBI officials and the fraudulent use of SEBI's name, logo, and letterhead. Instances have been noted where fraudsters are claiming to be SEBI officials and sending communications, sometimes via social media, demanding payments for compliance services, penalties, or fines. These communications often misuse SEBI's letterhead to falsely certify vendor merchant accounts as being under SEBI's supervision, leading investors to transfer funds to fraudulent accounts.
The public is urged to exercise caution and verify the authenticity of any communication purportedly from SEBI. Key points to note:
1. All SEBI enforcement actions are published on the SEBI website under the "Home/Enforcement" section.
2. Online payments to SEBI for Order/Settlement/Recovery should only be made through the official portal: https://siportal.sebi.gov.in/intermediaryAOPaymentGateway.html
3. Contact details of SEBI officials are available on the SEBI website under "Home/About SEBI/Directory".
4. Official SEBI email communications are sent exclusively from email addresses ending with the domain "sebi.gov.in".
5. Addresses of SEBI offices can be found on the SEBI website under "Home/About/Addresses of Offices of SEBI".
Investors are advised to be vigilant and verify the authenticity of individuals demanding information or payment on behalf of SEBI, especially if the communication originates from a domain that does not end in "sebi.gov.in." This press release was issued in Mumbai on September 05, 2025.
Key Entities Referenced
SEBI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India.
SEBI officials: Individuals working for the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Social Media Platforms: Online platforms used by fraudsters to send notices.
Home Enforcement: Section of the SEBI website where enforcement actions are listed.
https:siportal.sebi.gov.inintermediaryAOPaymentGateway.html: The official SEBI payment gateway for online payments.
Home AboutSEBI Directory: Section of the SEBI website where contact details of SEBI officials are available.
Home About Addresses of Offices of SEBI: Section of the SEBI website where the addresses of SEBI offices are available.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: City and State where SEBI's press release was issued.
PR No.60/2025
Caution to the public regarding impersonation of SEBI
SEBI is issuing this Press Release to advise investors to protect themselves from fraudsters
and remain vigilant while dealing with communications fabricated to have been sent by
SEBI officials and senders seeking payment on behalf of SEBI.
SEBI has noted various instances of impersonation of identities of SEBI officials, various
offices of SEBI and email ids of SEBI officials by fraudsters. Fraudsters are claiming to be
officials of SEBI and sending a communication to entities using the letter head, logo and
seal of SEBI. It is noted in certain instances that fraudsters are sending notices through
Social Media Platforms and requesting for payments for compliance services, payment of
penalty amounts/ fines to prevent action by SEBI.
It has also been noted that SEBI’s letter head is being misused by fraudsters to certify that
the fraudster’s account is a certified vendor/ merchant account and is under the supervision
of SEBI. The certificate on SEBI’s letter head portrays a SEBI authorized bank account on
which signatures of SEBI officials have been impersonated and SEBI logo has been
imprinted, making investors believe that the stated fraudulent account is a genuine account.
Gullible investors are losing their hard earned money by believing these fraudsters and
transferring money to these fraudulent accounts.
In view of the above, public is urged to exercise caution and note the following:
i. Every enforcement action taken by SEBI is available on the SEBI website under the
path Home >Enforcement.
ii. Any online Order/Settlement/Recovery Payment to SEBI is to be done through
https://siportal.sebi.gov.in/intermediary/AOPaymentGateway.html.iii. Contact details of SEBI officials are available on the SEBI website under the path
Home > About>SEBI Directory.
iv. Communication from SEBI through emails is sent through official e-mail IDs of SEBI
officials only. These email IDs end with domain address @sebi.gov.in.
v. Addresses of SEBI offices are available on the SEBI website under the path Home
> About> Addresses of Offices of SEBI.
Investors are advised to remain vigilant while dealing with communication being received
from domain addresses that do not end with @sebi.gov.in. Investors may also remain
cautious and verify the authenticity of people demanding information or payment on behalf
of SEBI.
Mumbai
September 05, 2025