Fraudsters target SJP clients in clone scam offering advice

Pretending to be SJP adviser

Sophie King
clock • 2 min read

Clone scammers have targeted St. James’s Place (SJP) customers by pretending to be a fake bond website and acting as an adviser from the advice giant.

Professional fixed income investor and campaigner Mark Taber spotted the scam and has reported it to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and SJP. Scammers appeared to be acting as a fake SJP adviser called Richard Thorpe, offering support and guidance relating to bonds with fake website 'Bond Compare'. Taber became aware of the fraudulent website last year after it targeted customers of other advice firms. He reported the website on 17 November 2020 but, at the time of writing, the website still appeared on Google. A note on the FCA website from 4 December last year outlined that...

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