People should beware of a suspicious company called ZQgroups, the Securities & Futures Commission says, adding that the official address it offers is false.

The company, which has only a Chinese-language website at www.zqgroups.com, represents that it has an office in Taiwan.

The commission reminds people that most unlicensed companies either represent themselves as having operations in Hong Kong by using the address of a mail-forwarding facility or settle their transactions through a bank account in Hong Kong, when in fact they do not have any actual operations in Hong Kong.

Alternatively, they may operate from overseas and contact potential investors in Hong Kong while not having been licensed in Hong Kong.

While some of them may be so-called "boiler-room" operations - involved in fraudulent telemarketing schemes - others may merely have failed to comply with licensing requirements.