SEBI Urges Social Media Platforms to Verify Advertisers and Flag Fake Apps

Moneylife Digital Team 07 November 2025

Investor Interest

In a move to protect investors from the growing menace of online investment scams, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reached out to major social media platforms and internet search engine providers, urging them to strengthen mechanisms that prevent their platforms from being misused for fraudulent financial activities.

This initiative by SEBI aligns with the global call to action made by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 21 May 2025. In its statement, IOSCO emphasised the crucial responsibility of digital platform providers in curbing online financial harm and urged them to take proactive steps to safeguard investors worldwide.

Supporting IOSCO recommendations, SEBI has called upon digital platforms to give top priority to specific measures aimed at ensuring transparency and authenticity in the Indian securities market.

These include:

Mandatory Advertiser Verification: Ensuring that only SEBI-registered entities are allowed to advertise investment-related products and services on their platforms. This step will help filter out unregulated operators who often lure investors with promises of high returns.

Verified Status for Authentic Apps: Introducing a distinct and visible label for genuine, SEBI-registered trading and investment apps on app stores, enabling investors to easily distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent applications.

Reiterating its commitment to investor safety, SEBI has also issued an advisory urging the public to remain vigilant and verify the credentials of any entity before making investment decisions.

SEBI advises investors to:

1. Verify registration of entities through SEBI’s official website at https://www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html

2. Conduct transactions only via verified trading apps of SEBI-registered intermediaries, which can be checked at https://investor.sebi.gov.in/Investor-support.html .

3.Use validated UPI handles (those ending with ‘@valid’) of SEBI-registered intermediaries and leverage the ‘SEBI Check’ platform at https://siportal.sebi.gov.in/intermediary/sebi-check or the Saarthi App for secure investor payments.

Through these coordinated efforts, SEBI aims to foster a safer digital investment environment and prevent unsuspecting investors from falling prey to online fraudsters who exploit social media and search platforms.

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