Quebec's Autorite Des Marches Financiers (AMF) issued a fraud warning against BeFactor on December 2nd, prompting the company to change its website domain from befactor.com to berules.com. This swift rebrand followed the AMF's declaration that BeFactor was operating without proper registration in the province.
The AMF, Quebec's financial markets authority, stated BeFactor was not registered to act as a securities or derivatives dealer or adviser within Quebec. The regulator identified BeFactor as based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and noted its absence from both Corporations Canada and the Quebec enterprise registrar (REQ).
BeFactor marketed itself by promising wealth with minimal effort, requiring no prior knowledge of foreign exchange or cryptocurrency markets. Individuals and groups within Quebec promoted BeFactor's products and services, primarily through social media platforms. The AMF has since taken steps to halt these solicitation activities.
Regulators often caution the public that high returns invariably carry high risk, especially in complex and volatile markets like foreign exchange and cryptocurrency. The AMF's classification of BeFactor's app-based signals as securities activity represents a specific legal interpretation under Quebec law, which requires registration for such offerings.
Beyond the securities concerns, the AMF also identified pyramid scheme characteristics, citing the emphasis on new member recruitment. ScamTelegraph has previously flagged Be as a pyramid scheme since its initial Melius launch in 2018.
The AMF's warning likely disrupted BeFactor's business operations. Financial institutions and payment processors often flag companies under regulatory scrutiny as suspicious, potentially leading to severed banking channels. Such actions can cripple a business model reliant on consistent financial flows.
Evidence of the warning's impact appeared on Alexa traffic charts for both BeFactor's original domain and the new berules.com site. At the time of this publication, Alexa data showed the United States as the top traffic source for the new BeRules website at 57%, followed by Colombia at 8%, and Canada at 2%.
The AMF's jurisdiction is limited to Quebec. Other Canadian provinces have not publicly issued similar warnings against Be. Consumers interested in investment opportunities should always verify a company's registration status with their local financial regulator before committing funds.