Sebi is in discussion with tech giants Google and Apple to add a verification mark on the application of registered intermediaries on their respective app stores amid rising concerns over impersonation and fake applications.

“Suddenly, we are seeing there are a lot of cases where impersonation is taking place. They (impersonators) will create fake apps and fake payment links, and innocent investors are falling prey,” Sebi whole-time member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney said.

Varshney also said that Sebi is working with Meta to curb misleading advertisements from ‘finfluencers’ — financial influencers, who push their content without registration and include trade advice. “In the garb of education, you cannot do activities that require registration,” he said.

Enforcement continues against tipsters, penny-stock manipulators and insider-trading/front-running rings, Varshney said.