Clone fraud victims lost £78m to scammers pretending to be legitimate financial services businesses in 2020 with reports to authorities rocketing during the first national lockdown, Action Fraud data revealed.
On average people lost more than £45,000 to online fraudsters, according to the data which also showed reports of cloned firms increased almost 30% from April to March last year as scammers took advantage of fears related to the first Covid-19 lockdown and related market volatility. Action Fraud released the data as part of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) ScamSmart campaign. It also found 42% of investors are worried about their finances due to the pandemic and 77% plan to make an investment in the next six months to help improve their financial prospects. The results also sho...
To continue reading this article...
Join Professional Adviser for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights
- Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
- Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
- Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
- Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
- Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
- Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes
