Last Updated on March 25, 2026 9:13 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
AMN/ WEB DESK
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey today launched the Verified App Label Initiative to strengthen investor protection against the growing threat of fraudulent mobile applications. Addressing the launch, Pandey stated that digital platforms are being actively monitored for misleading investment-related content. More than 1.3 lakh such instances have been escalated to platforms for takedown. Around 66 cases of fake trading apps have also been reported to app stores and subsequently removed. He added that SEBI’s approach to tackling such frauds is simple: to build safeguards before harm occurs.
Explaining the initiative, the Chairman said that apps of SEBI-registered intermediaries will display a verified badge on the Google Play Store. This badge will help investors easily identify genuine apps and make impersonation more difficult. This visual cue reinforces a simple message: ‘First verify. Then invest.”
Pandey further said that, for now, the verified badge is being rolled out for apps of SEBI-registered stockbrokers on the Google Play Store and has already been deployed for over 600 such apps. In due course, it will be extended to apps of other SEBI-registered intermediaries as well. He urged every investor to pause, verify, and proceed only through trusted channels.