The IA: Lockdown investment scams cost savers £4m

Fraudsters cloning investment firm marketing material

An estimated 300 incidences of organised criminals impersonating legitimate vehicles sold by investment management firms have occurred since late 2019, scamming savers out of approximately £4m, with the figure boosted significantly since the beginning of lockdown, according to the Investment Association.

The IA said on Wednesday (14 July) that fraudsters have increasingly been using "sophisticated targeting of victims" such as creating fake price comparison websites and cloning legitimate brands to produce fake documentation. Investment Week understands the scams began in late 2019 with one firm's brand targeted in particular, but the majority of these incidents have been since the lockdown began in March. Fraudsters are also employing sponsored Google and Facebook links and harvesting personal details from fake call centres, while in some cases scammers have set up a range of email a...