International Investments Regulator Claiming a Greensboro Address

******Fraud Alert******

The Better Business Bureau in Greensboro, the Greensboro News & Record and even the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are reporting a bogus international securities regulator that utilizes a Greensboro address and phone number. The entity uses the name International Equity Commission and claims to be located at 1616 Lee Street. That is the address of a skating equipment shop located near the Greensboro Coliseum. The skateboard shop indicates that it has no knowledge of International Equity Commission.

International Equity Commission uses an elaborate website that resembles those of federal agencies. The site contains warnings about particular firms and scams, links to legitimate regulatory agencies and portals for reporting fraudulent brokers and the details of problematic investment transactions. It also features phone numbers for contacting the "agency" and making inquiries. In one recent incident, an investor was contacted and told there was an overseas party who wanted to engage in a securities transaction with him at a very favorable price. The investor was invited to wire several thousand dollars into an escrow account for a so-called stock evaluation service so that the transaction might proceed. The callers told him to contact the Greensboro-based "regulator" in order to verify their legitimacy and that of the evaluation service.