Investment company scams

lr1277

willaldridge said:

thanks thank you for all your comments. 

Genuinely I have had several of these calls now. My presumption had been that having searched into general investment strategies and companies and enquired at the bank that I had somehow appeared on a database through algorithms and so genuine investment brokers would be picking up on this. 

So far it seems that all have some degree of worry for newbies like myself when it comes to passing security tests. 

My conclusion is that I am most likely to now use a platform such as einvestor or vanguard to avoid the inherent dangers associated with using any 3rd party. 

Thanks again 

You mentioned einvestor. I had never heard of them so googled them. Apparently something to do with MegaEquities who are based in Nigeria.

Personally I would stay well clear.

dunstonh

Genuinely I have had several of these calls now. My presumption had been that having searched into general investment strategies and companies and enquired at the bank that I had somehow appeared on a database through algorithms and so genuine investment brokers would be picking up on this. 

You are quite possibly on a "mugs list" now.   Mugs lists tend to get passed around.  No genuine investment company would be cold calling you.

My conclusion is that I am most likely to now use a platform such as einvestor or vanguard to avoid the inherent dangers associated with using any 3rd party. 

Or use a local IFA.  That gives you the most consumer protection as you get it at adviser level and at platform and investment level.    I don't recognise einvestor.

wmb194

lr1277 said:

willaldridge said:

thanks thank you for all your comments. 

Genuinely I have had several of these calls now. My presumption had been that having searched into general investment strategies and companies and enquired at the bank that I had somehow appeared on a database through algorithms and so genuine investment brokers would be picking up on this. 

So far it seems that all have some degree of worry for newbies like myself when it comes to passing security tests. 

My conclusion is that I am most likely to now use a platform such as einvestor or vanguard to avoid the inherent dangers associated with using any 3rd party. 

Thanks again 

You mentioned einvestor. I had never heard of them so googled them. Apparently something to do with MegaEquities who are based in Nigeria.

Personally I would stay well clear.

I presume (hope) the OP mistyped and actually meant evestor, which is a robo-investor type platform. It's probably not the cheapest but it is legitimate, I opened an account with it a while ago for some cashback promotion.

https://www.evestor.co.uk/

ivormonee

I'm getting calls from these people. What I find particularly disturbing is their persuasive nature - they seem to have a knack in keeping you on the line. After they give a brief explanation of what they purport to offer, if you state that you are not interested, they immediately respond with something, in a very calm and polite manner, like "oh, may I just ask why?". You end up having to justify why you are not interested, but they counteract every point you make - they are totally prepared, or so it seems, for every possible thing you might say. It's disconcerting to know that these operators are on the phone all day trying to suck in victims and in some cases succeeding against some of the most vulnerable.

wmb194

ivormonee said:

I'm getting calls from these people. What I find particularly disturbing is their persuasive nature - they seem to have a knack in keeping you on the line. After they give a brief explanation of what they purport to offer, if you state that you are not interested, they immediately respond with something, in a very calm and polite manner, like "oh, may I just ask why?". You end up having to justify why you are not interested, but they counteract every point you make - they are totally prepared, or so it seems, for every possible thing you might say. It's disconcerting to know that these operators are on the phone all day trying to suck in victims and in some cases succeeding against some of the most vulnerable.

Stop being polite and just hang up.

jimjames

wmb194 said:

ivormonee said:

I'm getting calls from these people. What I find particularly disturbing is their persuasive nature - they seem to have a knack in keeping you on the line. After they give a brief explanation of what they purport to offer, if you state that you are not interested, they immediately respond with something, in a very calm and polite manner, like "oh, may I just ask why?". You end up having to justify why you are not interested, but they counteract every point you make - they are totally prepared, or so it seems, for every possible thing you might say. It's disconcerting to know that these operators are on the phone all day trying to suck in victims and in some cases succeeding against some of the most vulnerable.

Stop being polite and just hang up.

There's a benefit of keeping them on the line if you know they are scammers as it stops them spending their time luring in victims who don't know they're frauds. I try to keep them talking as long as possible if I'm bored

Albermarle

ivormonee said:

I'm getting calls from these people. What I find particularly disturbing is their persuasive nature - they seem to have a knack in keeping you on the line. After they give a brief explanation of what they purport to offer, if you state that you are not interested, they immediately respond with something, in a very calm and polite manner, like "oh, may I just ask why?". You end up having to justify why you are not interested, but they counteract every point you make - they are totally prepared, or so it seems, for every possible thing you might say. It's disconcerting to know that these operators are on the phone all day trying to suck in victims and in some cases succeeding against some of the most vulnerable.

Well you would not expect them to be rude or try and put you off as they are trying to sell something . Nothing wrong with a good bit of salesmanship as long as the product being sold is above board, which this isn't .

willaldridge

wmb194 said:

lr1277 said:

willaldridge said:

thanks thank you for all your comments. 

Genuinely I have had several of these calls now. My presumption had been that having searched into general investment strategies and companies and enquired at the bank that I had somehow appeared on a database through algorithms and so genuine investment brokers would be picking up on this. 

So far it seems that all have some degree of worry for newbies like myself when it comes to passing security tests. 

My conclusion is that I am most likely to now use a platform such as einvestor or vanguard to avoid the inherent dangers associated with using any 3rd party. 

Thanks again 

You mentioned einvestor. I had never heard of them so googled them. Apparently something to do with MegaEquities who are based in Nigeria.

Personally I would stay well clear.

I presume (hope) the OP mistyped and actually meant evestor, which is a robo-investor type platform. It's probably not the cheapest but it is legitimate, I opened an account with it a while ago for some cashback promotion.

https://www.evestor.co.uk/

You are “ thankfully” correct. 

I generally use MSE website for advice and fact checking as they do much of the ground work for you and they seem to think evestor.. among others are at least on the level. 

eskbanker

willaldridge said:

I generally use MSE website for advice and fact checking as they do much of the ground work for you and they seem to think evestor.. among others are at least on the level. 

Not a bad approach, especially compared with cold calls, stuff on social media, etc, but still not a substitute for definitive info published on providers' websites (and those of regulators and so on), and hence the disclaimers at the foot of each page:

How this site works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

• This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.
  
• We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).
• Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first.
• We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.
• Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.