Shares in escrow account

cheval14

I have been contacted by an American company about shares I apparently own in an Escrow Account.
They are restricted, and I need to pay £5,000 to a compny working from London to allow the restriction to be lifted.

However, after checking with the FCA, I understand that this is a scam and on no account should be followed up.

What has really surprised me is that the employees are apparently working for two companies that seem legitimate, and can be contacted there by phone.

One is James Mays PLLC, in New York, the other is Bernd Franz Frohler.

I would be very grateful if anyone could enlighten me further.

masonic

You've figured out it is a scam. What more do you need to know?

Sabel

I too have just had these companies contact me with the same thing and want me to transfer over £5000 to a Chinese HSBC bank to have the restriction lifted As above all seemed ok till they request money Then i smell a rat I've twice over the years had similar where they require a bond upfront which would be refudable once transaction complete No No

DrSyn

cheval14 wrote: »

What has really surprised me is that the employees are apparently working for two companies that seem legitimate, and can be contacted there by phone.

One is James Mays PLLC, in New York, the other is Bernd Franz Frohler.

I would be very grateful if anyone could enlighten me further.

1. Would it by any chance be these two companies that seem legitimate and can be contacted by phone?

https://www.scamdoc.com/view/46746

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/jamesmaysllc.com

https://www.scamdoc.com/view/46748

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/berndfranzfrohler.com


2. Just where did you get the phone numbers from, so you could contact them?

Pompey1898

These guys contacted me with the same thing - 37,500 shares I knew nothing about that could be sold if I paid £5k to de-restrict them:

Their website scored 1% on the scam checker...

They also sent me to Bernd Franz Fohler who said VG Asset Management via The Bank of China (Hong Kong) or Wells Fargo would do the transfer for me for a price per share. they offered some kind of escrow that guaranteed I would get the money for the shares if I paid the £5k.

Funny how you want to believe in the windfalll even when you can see it is a scam...

System

Pompey1898 wrote: »

Funny how you want to believe in the windfalll even when you can see it is a scam...

Yes, it is called greed!

Monstar1968

Someone I know has been duped by a scam for large amounts of money, and he has been contacted by this company VG Asset Management in Hong Kong, passed on by the others who have taken money off him. Don't touch it! I'm about to report them to the FCA. It's relatively new, incorporated only last year, and I think hasn't made it onto the FCA warning pages yet.
(There is an asset mgt company VG AM in Switzerland which may be real. These people often take a very similar name of a more reputable company.)
If you've been scammed, report to the FCA and Action Fraud. Don't expect to get anything back, but at least the info you give them helps them to build a picture and possibly catch them.

DrSyn

Monstar1968 wrote: »

Someone I know has been duped by a scam for large amounts of money, and he has been contacted by this company VG Asset Management in Hong Kong, passed on by the others who have taken money off him. Don't touch it! I'm about to report them to the FCA. It's relatively new, incorporated only last year, and I think hasn't made it onto the FCA warning pages yet.
(There is an asset mgt company VG AM in Switzerland which may be real. These people often take a very similar name of a more reputable company.)
If you've been scammed, report to the FCA and Action Fraud. Don't expect to get anything back, but at least the info you give them helps them to build a picture and possibly catch them.

Never give money or do business with any cold callers, whoever they say they are, just hang up!

Glad you are reporting them.

The person scammed can not have done even a basic internet check I take it. This is what I found:-

https://www.scamdoc.com/view/47584

https://www.easycounter.com/report/vgassetmanagementhk.com

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/vgassetmanagementhk.com

DrSyn

Once someone falls for this scam, there name is added to a list. That person can expect to receive more similar calls. It has been know for people to fall for it more than once.

So I would warn that person to hang up on any cold callers.

Monstar1968

Thanks DrSyn. We know all that, it's just persuading him... Older people are very vulnerable. And some of these scams are very elaborate and clever. Although it seemed to be screaming "scam" all over it (on the basis of cold call, too good to be true, etc) it took me quite a long time to actually prove it to him (from a fraudulent document impersonating a govt office).
BTW you reference those scam websites, but more reliable are the warnings on sites like FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK) and SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission, USA). There is an International Organization of Securities Commissions where you can find the relevant national authority.

Malthusian

Most older people would simply put the phone down on a scam like this. There are very elaborate and clever scams but this is not one of them.

Unfortunately if they are desperate enough to believe the scam, any proof you give them will simply be explained away by the scammers.

Does he have Lasting Power of Attorneys in place?