SEC warns vs new invest scam

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against another company that is soliciting investments from the public without the necessary license.

In an advisory, the SEC warned against Alifelong Marketing and Services Inc. 

According to its notice, Alifelong is soliciting investments from the public by claiming to be an advertising and marketing company with a network of foreign clients.

It claims that with an initial investment of P1,500, members can grow their money by simply obtaining referrals.

Based on information gathered by the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department, Alifelong requires its members to sign up through its website by clicking a sponsored link and purchasing an activation code worth P1,500.

This may be done by using either bitcoin or by depositing money in certain bank accounts.

With this investment, the company claims that its members may earn in six ways.

One is a sign up reward wherein the member will earn P300 upon registration, while another way is sponsoring an affiliate reward wherein the member will earn P100 for every person he sponsors into the system. 

Another option is the Youclick Programme wherein all members who join can earn P500 daily or P2,500 if they have completed the click threshold of 5,000 clicks per day for five business days only. 

Users are required to pay P1,500 for the activation code to join this program.

Members can also earn by inviting new members with different amounts for different levels in the binary structure. 

However, the SEC, in its advisory, said Alifelong does not have the license to solicit investments.

“The public is hereby warned that such investment schemes whether with the use of bitcoins or money are considered as securities and are subject to the regulatory authority of this commission,” the SEC said.

The SEC also said the recruitment of investors under the guise of sponsoring a person into the system is considered a form of investment solicitation or a sale of securities. 

“The public is hereby informed that Alifelong Marketing and Services Inc., despite having been registered with the SEC as a corporation, is not authorized to solicit investments from the public as it has not secured the necessary license or permit from the SEC as required under Sections 8 and 12 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC),” the SEC also said in its advisory.

It reminded companies that the offering or sale of securities to the public without a permit or license from the commission is a violation of Section 8.1 of the SRC.