BBC Article: Average Victim Loses £45k in Investment Scams.

barnstar2077

As per the title, an article about investment scams:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55816059

Albermarle

This was the quote from the first victim .
One victim, called Janet, said: "After searching the internet for high-return bonds, I received a call the next day about investing in student accommodation'
So she invested £40K ............

barnstar2077

Albermarle said:

This was the quote from the first victim .
One victim, called Janet, said: "After searching the internet for high-return bonds, I received a call the next day about investing in student accommodation'
So she invested £40K ............

The trouble is that many people have not met the kind of evil in real life that is waiting for them online round every corner, so they are too trusting and take people at face value.  I have said many times before that while they teach people English and maths in schools, they should also be teaching about credit cards, mortgages and pensions and scams too. 

A_T

does this include people who give out their online banking login details?

couriervanman

barnstar2077 said:

Albermarle said:

This was the quote from the first victim .
One victim, called Janet, said: "After searching the internet for high-return bonds, I received a call the next day about investing in student accommodation'
So she invested £40K ............

The trouble is that many people have not met the kind of evil in real life that is waiting for them online round every corner, so they are too trusting and take people at face value.  I have said many times before that while they teach people English and maths in schools, they should also be teaching about credit cards, mortgages and pensions and scams too. 

A_T said:

does this include people who give out their online banking login details?

The son of my fathers friend actually fell for a Nigerian  bank scam and lost £30k.....then 5 years later was fleeced again for £2k......he was well educated but wet behind the ears

eskbanker

barnstar2077 said:

Albermarle said:

This was the quote from the first victim .
One victim, called Janet, said: "After searching the internet for high-return bonds, I received a call the next day about investing in student accommodation'
So she invested £40K ............

The trouble is that many people have not met the kind of evil in real life that is waiting for them online round every corner, so they are too trusting and take people at face value.  I have said many times before that while they teach people English and maths in schools, they should also be teaching about credit cards, mortgages and pensions and scams too. 

But the rest of Janet's quote, included in full at https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-scamsmart-warning-clone-firm-investment-scams, is:

I’m quite savvy minded when it comes to money – being a finance officer I thought I was a confident investor and thought I knew how to spot the warning signs of a scam. After searching the internet for high-return bonds, I received a call the next day about investing in student accommodation.

'I found legitimate details of the company online - everything seemed genuine, so I invested. A few months later, after a couple more investments, I started to get a bit worried - I still hadn’t received confirmation of the latest investment. I tried to call the contacts I had been speaking to, but the numbers were invalid. It was clear I had been scammed. I had lost £40,000. I really thought I’d be able to spot a scam, but now I know they can be far more sophisticated than I had ever imagined

A_T said:

does this include people who give out their online banking login details?

No - https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/Fraud-The-Facts-2020-FINAL-ONLINE-11-June.pdf is quite a comprehensive illustration of the different types of financial fraud, and the subject of this thread is the investment scam category, explained on page 50, whereas you're referring to unauthorised remote banking fraud (page 34 onwards).

mongoose2009

Greed
it often overcomes basic intelligence
I had a cold caller telling me that he had a GUARANTEED investment scheme he could let me in on
he would double my money in a month guaranteed
oh really?
yes 100%
why are you talking to me then?if such a thing existed you DEFINATELY would be telling me or anyone else
you would have borrowed as much as you can invested in your own scheme and become a millionaire and not like you are now sat in a office with other saddos like yourself on commission cold calling hundreds of people a day trying to scam the vulnerable and the greedy into investing into a bolox scam
he soon rang off

dunstonh

It is also a shame that when scams are identified and warned about on sites like this, that the board then suffers solicitor letters demanding posts get removed or they will take action.

Langtang

These are the kind of things that frighten me as a brand new investor, with regard to online investing. With web addresses easily copied now I'd be cautious, to the point of resisting, to invest. I know some people on these boards say DIY is the (cheapest) way to go, but to my mind c1% to an IFA vs 100% to a scammer is a no brainer.

I'm a bit like Janet, I like to think I am savvy in lots of ways (and I know when the Indian guy who phones me is called Phil Jones, that its a red light - you'd think they'd have cottoned on by now)

With my first steps into investing just around the corner, this is the last thing I want to hear...

eskbanker

Langtang said:

I know when the Indian guy who phones me is called Phil Jones, that its a red light - you'd think they'd have cottoned on by now

Yes, you'd think they'd choose 'Harry Maguire' or 'Marcus Rashford' if they're wanting to latch onto names with some credibility....

Alexland

dunstonh said:

It is also a shame that when scams are identified and warned about on sites like this, that the board then suffers solicitor letters demanding posts get removed or they will take action.

Yes it's very difficult when that happens. Especially if the solicitors claim the company is just an innocent victim of cloning but you still suspect that they are just a scam. Just talking in general terms of course no particular recent example come to mind.