A link to a spurious website is circulating in Facebook posts in the Philippines alongside a hoax invitation to invest in a major business conglomerate. A representative for the firm Ayala Corporation warned that the link was a scam, while the company said in a statement that stocks can only be purchased through licensed stockbrokers and not through websites or third-party apps.
“If I were you, I’d switch to Ayala Corporation,” reads a Tagalog-language Facebook post shared on January 11 in a group called “Philippines Investment Platform”.
Ayala Corporation is a major business conglomerate working in various industries, including power, water, real estate and telecommunications.
The post encourages Facebook users to click a link to “invest only 370 pesos (US$ 6.77)” and assures them that the scheme is “SEC-registered”.
The link leads to a website called Oyala, which features a logo similar to that of Ayala Corporation.
“SEC” refers to the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, which issues warnings against companies that solicit investments illegally or engage in Ponzi schemes.
The post appears to show screenshots of cash transactions and an SEC-issued “certificate of permit to offer securities for sale”.
Screenshot of false post taken on January 17, 2022
The claim was also shared on other Facebook groups about investing here, here and here.
Another post promotes a similar link, which it advertises as an “Ayala app”, and shows screenshots of a supposed initial investment of…
