Is this a scam investment advisor?

PhoneBoxDirectAreDodgyToo

OK, so I had one of those endless phone calls the other day when the guy asks do you want to win a car, do you want to receive 1000 quid a month for life, do you want a never ending supply of tee shirts etc. I must admit to not paying much attention to what he was saying, but i think he slipped in do you want free investment advice.

So a week or so later I got a call from a London based Investment Advisor! Long spiel about what they do, who they are, how many millions they advise on each minute, etc. He spoke as if I had initiated the contact, and he was following up the lead.

He asked how much I would be likely to invest in the forth coming months, what sort of return I would hope for, how much risk I would be prepared to take, duration of investment...

So now he has got back to me and is VERY keen that I should invest in a company that is at the IPO stage (at least I think thats what he said). I have no knowledge of shares or dealing. He was on the phone for about 45 minutes. I have not given any sensitive info to him, but he is reserving me shares in this company.

How do I find out if he is genuine and if the company he is recommending is genuine. They both have a website, but neither is particularly elaborate. You could say they were basic. Is there any way to check them out?

Thanks
PB

Aegis

If he called you and tried to sell you shares, then he's not a financial adviser and you can safely bet that he's not regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Stay clear and tell him where he can shove his investment opportunity next time he calls

dunstonh

www.fsa.gov.uk/register is where you can check the authorisation of companies and individuals.

Proper advisers dont cold call. Its usually seen as a sign of desperation. That said, if they do cold call, they are not allowed under FSA guidelines to use indirect methods or excuses to contact. Competition would be a clear breach of that.

The FSA is trying to crack down on the number of scam investment calls but many originate outside of the country and its hard to deal with them.

A basic rule is that if you get cold called about anything financial services related then treat it on the assumption that it is a scam.

LongTermLurker

Anyone who calls me out of the blue isn't welcome - whether it's to offer a "dead cert investment" or to sign me up for their job agency.

Assuming you didn't give your risk profile as "speculative" then an unknown IPO is not likely to be good for you. It doesn't need much consideration; offers from companies that don't know you aren't worth considering imo.

I would recommend being hard faced if they call you again. Just say "No thanks, I'm not interested, please don't call me again. Goodbye" and if they continue talking, just say "OK, goodbye" and hang up. They haven't paid for 45 minutes of your time, so why should you give it away for free?

KiKi

Someone you've never heard of calls you. You don't know them, you've never met them, you have no evidence of who they represent. You know nothing about investing, nothing about shares or dealing. You have absolutely no experience in this.

And you're wondering if you should hand over your money?!?!

Sorry, I'm not having a go, here, and I don't mean to be facetious. I'm just demonstrating how ludicrous it can sound to people outside of how you're looking at it right now!

I know very little about shares, and I'd be hesitant even using a reputable organisation who were providing excellent advice until I understood it all myself.

Next time he calls, tell him you're not interested and put the phone down. Scam or not, cold calling smacks of desperation. If you want to start investing, do some research first and make your own decisions on it, based on reputable advice from a qualified Financial Advisor.

HTH
KiKi

LardyCake

Sounds like the classic "boiler room" scam. See: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/boiler-rooms

barak

Many of us get similar calls.

Just follow KiKi's advice -

"Next time he calls, tell him you're not interested and put the phone down."

....and do the same whenever he calls again! He almost certainly will.

Hungerdunger

Why not sign up to the Telephone Preference Service?

barak

Hungerdunger wrote: »

Why not sign up to the Telephone Preference Service?

Doing that certainly helps to discourage calls from within the UK, but most of the calls I get now come from overseas where the TPS has no influence.

I am seriously considering changing my number, in spite of the hassle involved.

Inactive

If I receive any cold calls, I have a two word reply for the caller, "off " is the second word.

I cannot believe that anyone would let these wasters waffle down the phone for 45 minutes.

If I want something I approach the company, not the other way around, same applies at my front door.:mad:

muckypots

My usual technique for getting rid of these type of clowns is to say "hang on a second while I switch off the cooker/telly/whatever" and then just leave the phone off the hook while I go about my business. They usually get the message!