Investment scams

Protect your investments

Similar to pension scams, other types of investment scams are unfortunately becoming increasingly common.

As an investor in a Stocks and Shares ISA and/or General Investment Account, you should be wary of scammers cold-calling offering to buy or sell shares or bonds which in general are likely to turn out to be worthless, overpriced or even non-existent. Unlike pension cold calling, these calls aren't illegal. As well as this, you should also be suspicious of any unsolicited advice, offers to buy shares at a discount or offers of free reports.

Increasingly, tactics are becoming more advanced, with very persistent and extremely persuasive scammers using high pressure tactics such as limited time offers or offers available only for a 'select' few investors. If the offer looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Another common tactic to be aware of is the use of a fake or cloned websites, emails and advertising. In these examples, the same company/product branding is used to make it look and feel genuine, however, the information provided to you will contain links to fraudulent websites which are used to steal your personal information and security details. Fake sites, emails and advertising may also be used to encourage you to invest in products appearing to be from a genuine firm, often in the guise of bonds. Again, the look and feel of the fake communications are designed to persuade you that you're dealing with the legitimate firm. If you're unsure about the product or introducer, you should always independently check the information before making an investment. You can use the contact details on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Register for product providers and introducers associated with investments in the UK. If the investment or introducer is based overseas, we recommend you check using the relevant regulatory body based in that country.

How to protect yourself from financial investment scams

• Investment opportunities - don’t be rushed into making an investment. Remember, legitimate organisations will never pressure you into investing on the spot.
• Seek advice first - before making significant financial decisions, speak with trusted friends or family members, or seek professional independent advice. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can visit MoneyHelper to find the right one for you.
• FCA Register - use the FCA Register to check if the company is regulated by the FCA. If you deal with a firm (or individual) that isn’t regulated, you might not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if things go wrong and you lose your money.

For more information on how to invest safely, please visit fca.org.uk/scamsmart.

What to do if you think you’ve been scammed? 

If you think you’ve been a victim of a scam, you can:

• Contact us as we may be able to stop a transfer that hasn't taken place yet.
• Report an unauthorised firm or scam to the Financial Conduct Authority, Action Fraud or Police Scotland.

There are also a number of support agencies you can reach out to

If you do find that you're a victim of a scam you should be extremely cautious of any future contact from someone purporting to be able to reclaim funds lost to a scam, as it's highly unlikely that an unfamiliar person will legitimately contact you for this reason. 

You should question how they've found your contact details and should check they're genuine by verifying their contact details from an independent and reliable source. You can find out more in this article from action fraud.

Find out more