Beware of fraud!

Help us with your reports about alleged investments in RWE

For some weeks now, we have been receiving an increasing number of reports about a scam which advertises the possibility of investing in RWE.

We would like to point out that such investment opportunities do not exist and are being advertised against RWE’s wishes. We strongly advise those affected not to respond to these attempts to make contact by supposed RWE employees, and to report such incidents immediately to the competent authorities in their country.

This document describes the approach adopted by the perpetrators, what exactly RWE is doing about it and how you can help to protect yourself and other targets. 

What method do the perpetrators use?

The perpetrators use fake user profiles to place adverts on social networks or advertise financial apps, including on YouTube, which promote the possibility of investing in RWE, and raise the prospect of potentially huge profits.

In these adverts, the perpetrators refer to various domains containing deceptively genuine-looking copies of our website (www.rwe.com), which also feature images of individuals such as the CEO of RWE AG. The websites give the targeted individuals the opportunity to enter their personal data to enable the perpetrators to contact them. 

RWE Image
Example of a fraud complaint regarding alleged investments in RWE on Youtube

On the phone or by email – always with a conspicuous number of spelling mistakes – the perpetrators pretend to be employees of RWE and try to convince their targets to transfer an “investment amount” promptly. The RWE logo is also currently being misused for a fake app called “RWE Finance Earning”, and there is reason to believe that the perpetrators also intend to use the trading platform www.pixpalpro.com, which the operators of the website trading-betrug.de (in German only) have also recently linked to a scam, to carry out transactions.

What is RWE doing about the perpetrators?

Information on FSRU LNG terminals | RWE
Information on FSRU LNG terminals | RWE

RWE is working closely with the relevant investigating authorities.

In addition, we have succeeded in shutting down some of the domains we have learned of so far, and also some email domains that were used to contact those affected. Unfortunately, however, the mobile phone providers for the phone numbers we have learned of to date, which have been used to contact some of those affected, have so far refused to co-operate in any way.

How can you help to protect yourself and others from this scam?

Please note that RWE does not offer any investment products of this nature, and has nothing to do with a so-called “Finance Earning App”. You should refrain from investing money via this app or other similar fake presences on websites or social media channels. These have nothing to do with RWE, our worldwide subsidiaries or our activities.

If you have been directly affected, you should file a criminal complaint with the competent law enforcement authorities and seek legal advice if necessary. 

RWE AG

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45141 Essen
Germany
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