We have been made aware of a recent scam that could impact our clients.

We are hearing accounts of voicemails that have been received along the lines of
“can you call me regarding the email you sent me last night please.

I have been transferring funds to the bank account you recommended so wasn’t sure why you were emailing me on this” – these emails were never and would never be sent by a professional financial institution.

In this case, it transpired that a few months ago the client in question received an email advising them of an incredible opportunity to transfer funds to a bank account that would give 2.5% interest. The client did just this and ended up transferring more than £150,000 over a few months.

So how were they fooled?

Firstly, the client had their email account hacked. The hackers must have trawled through their inbox and found communications indicating a relationship and wealth.

This is when they started their plan of emailing the client.

Let’s say the email was martynifa@nameoffirm.com.
The scammers sent the client an email from martynlfa@nameoffirm.com

LOOK CLOSELY and you will see the ‘i’ in ifa has been replaced with a ‘l’.

This email was dressed up to look as though it had come from the provider, their footer, links, and signatures had all been copied, not very good copies but good enough to fool some clients.

We thought it would be good to share some ideas on how to avoid your clients from being scammed in this way.

Research has shown that clients tend to trust the written word particularly if it is formal in its approach. Scammers are getting more and more ingenious with their ideas.

Ways that you can protect themselves include:

• Ensure that they have anti-virus software on all devices used.

• Do not allow any third party, regardless of whether they say they are from a bank or provider, to access their laptop i.e. do not allow TeamViewer access.

• Whenever you see an email purporting to be from a company, take the time to read it properly. People often skim read and when they receive an email they see who it is from, the email heading and skim read the main content. When you are really busy with work/life, it is easy to just skim read, respond and then feel the email has been dealt with.

Check the email communications

Does the email footer look correct?
Does the language look correct?
Does the email have your name spelt correctly?
Are there many typos which you would not expect?

• If you receive any random email suggesting that you invest into a product, even a bank account, then regardless as to whether the subject has been discussed before with them, PHONE the office to ensure the email has come from your financial adviser.

• In the event that you do get scammed, you should change all their passwords for everything. If the scammer has accessed their computer, it may mean that this would need to be wiped back to factory settings.

Please be extremely vigilant regarding any unsolicited financial offers and remember that if something looks too good to be true it normally is.

Call us if you are unsure about how to respond to anything as it is better to be safe than sorry.