In a move aimed at helping users spot legitimate trading platforms and avoid scams, Alphabet's Google will label verified investment apps on its app store in India. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that intermediaries registered with the regulator will carry a verified badge on the Google Play Store, helping investors identify authentic apps while making impersonation significantly more difficult. The regulator is actively monitoring digital platforms for misleading content and has escalated multiple applications for takedown.
Highlighting the growing risks in an increasingly digital investment ecosystem, Pandey warned that fake applications have emerged as a serious threat, often leading to substantial financial losses and eroding investor confidence. Fraudsters, he said, typically lure users with promises of assured returns and persuade them to download apps that closely mimic those of Sebi-registered entities.
He further noted, “By the time suspicion arises, investors have already lost their money. It is not just financial loss, but also a loss of confidence.”
The move comes as Sebi intensifies its crackdown on unauthorized investment advisers, finfluencers and fraudulent trading platforms amid a surge in scams targeting retail investors.
Sebi on Wednesday allowed members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India to conduct the annual audit of research analysts and investment advisers, a move that will widen the pool of eligible professionals.
Earlier, only members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India were permitted to carry out such audits.
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