hostile takeover Scam?????

Newark17

I wonder if anybody has come across this situation
we have a small amount of shares (less than 100) in Santander  Bank and we have been contacted by someone from Langley and Dawson Group regarding their clients involved in a hostile takeover. The know all about me the exact number of shares.  Further to that I have been contacted by a Finacial Advisor at the same company called  Katherine who has spent hours over several phone calls explaing the situation. She says under a forward split plan the number of my shares is increased by a factor of 4 and that the aqacition price has now been set at over £10. The aquation is being overseen by Prestige International Transfers and she has sent me several documents to read and sign for my acceptance of the offer. She will take 3% as her Financil Advisor fee.
But to prove I am the owner of the shares she wants a copy of my Driving licence as proof of identity. (SCAM WARNING)
Plus she says the undertaking is being underwritten by Fidelity insurance with the aquiring company paying 90% of the bond and I have to pay a 10% deposit to (which would be returned if the aquasition Failed) (ANOTHER SCAM WARNING)
This lady has spent literally hours on the phone explaining all the intracasies and proceedures involved and a vast array of the amount of moines concerned at each point of the transaction, and sent 4 pages of documentation. which seems a great deal of work for a scam of only a few thousand pounds.
I have looked up Langley and Dawson and they do not seem to have a great reputation.

What do people think?

wmb194

Newark17 said:

I wonder if anybody has come across this situation
we have a small amount of shares (less than 100) in Santander  Bank and we have been contacted by someone from Langley and Dawson Group regarding their clients involved in a hostile takeover. The know all about me the exact number of shares.  Further to that I have been contacted by a Finacial Advisor at the same company called  Katherine who has spent hours over several phone calls explaing the situation. She says under a forward split plan the number of my shares is increased by a factor of 4 and that the aqacition price has now been set at over £10. The aquation is being overseen by Prestige International Transfers and she has sent me several documents to read and sign for my acceptance of the offer. She will take 3% as her Financil Advisor fee.
But to prove I am the owner of the shares she wants a copy of my Driving licence as proof of identity. (SCAM WARNING)
Plus she says the undertaking is being underwritten by Fidelity insurance with the aquiring company paying 90% of the bond and I have to pay a 10% deposit to (which would be returned if the aquasition Failed) (ANOTHER SCAM WARNING)
This lady has spent literally hours on the phone explaining all the intracasies and proceedures involved and a vast array of the amount of moines concerned at each point of the transaction, and sent 4 pages of documentation. which seems a great deal of work for a scam of only a few thousand pounds.
I have looked up Langley and Dawson and they do not seem to have a great reputation.

What do people think?

It's complete nonsense and an advance fee fraud. Stop talking to them and don't give them anything.

Were you a certificated shareholder in Abbey National? They'll have found your details on an old share register.

RacingDriver

I think you should stop talking to a scammer for hours

ColdIron

If she has spent literally hours on the phone with you, I think you should see if you can keep the plates spinning for as long as you can without disclosing, agreeing or actioning anything

dunstonh

Clearly a scam.  
It is also on the FCA's scam list:  Langley and Dawson Group LTD | FCA

The know all about me the exact number of shares.

Share registers are public domain.

 Further to that I have been contacted by a Finacial Advisor at the same company called  Katherine who has spent hours over several phone calls explaing the situation.

Lets rephrase that for you...
 Further to that I have been contacted by someone claiming to be a Finacial Advisor at the same company called  Katherine who has spent hours over several phone calls explaing the situation despite it not being an area that a Financial Adviser would be involved.

 She will take 3% as her Financil Advisor fee.

even though its not an area that involves a financial adviser....

But to prove I am the owner of the shares she wants a copy of my Driving licence as proof of identity. (SCAM WARNING)

That actually isnt a scam warning as a genuine investment transaction would need ID.    yes, it will be used by the scammers but in itself its not an alarm bell.

Plus she says the undertaking is being underwritten by Fidelity insurance with the aquiring company paying 90% of the bond and I have to pay a 10% deposit to (which would be returned if the aquasition Failed) (ANOTHER SCAM WARNING)

That is the most obvious scam warning.  Classic advance fee fraud.

I have looked up Langley and Dawson and they do not seem to have a great reputation.

Seeing as they do not have any authorisations on the FCA register and have no financial advisers on the FCA register and there is an FCA warning about this [clone] scam firm, I think that stands out more than any other web entry.

jimjames

RacingDriver said:

I think you should stop talking to a scammer for hours

Alternatively it's beneficial to waste their time if you know it's a scam as it stops them using their time to con someone else

twopenny

When did anyone from a business have hours to speak on the phone?

Scammers talk for hours on the phone. It gets you bamboozled so you can't think straight.

Eyeful

Scam, just read these:
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/langley-and-dawson-group-ltd
https://www.scam-detector.com/validator/langleyanddawson-com-review/

Jami74

Newark17 said:

I wonder if anybody has come across this situation
we have a small amount of shares (less than 100) in Santander  Bank and we have been contacted by someone from Langley and Dawson Group regarding their clients involved in a hostile takeover. The know all about me the exact number of shares.  Further to that I have been contacted by a Finacial Advisor at the same company called  Katherine who has spent hours over several phone calls explaing the situation. She says under a forward split plan the number of my shares is increased by a factor of 4 and that the aqacition price has now been set at over £10. The aquation is being overseen by Prestige International Transfers and she has sent me several documents to read and sign for my acceptance of the offer. She will take 3% as her Financil Advisor fee.
But to prove I am the owner of the shares she wants a copy of my Driving licence as proof of identity. (SCAM WARNING)
Plus she says the undertaking is being underwritten by Fidelity insurance with the aquiring company paying 90% of the bond and I have to pay a 10% deposit to (which would be returned if the aquasition Failed) (ANOTHER SCAM WARNING)
This lady has spent literally hours on the phone explaining all the intracasies and proceedures involved and a vast array of the amount of moines concerned at each point of the transaction, and sent 4 pages of documentation. which seems a great deal of work for a scam of only a few thousand pounds.
I have looked up Langley and Dawson and they do not seem to have a great reputation.

What do people think?

Well done for recognising some red flags and coming here to check. Sounds like you've already invested hours of your time, but honestly a clean break is probably the safest thing for you (your finances) and try to cut those lines of contact. You don't owe them anything, so no need to be polite. Can you change your number? There'll be more now as they got so close to getting some money from you. So literally don't trust anyone who contacts you that you are not expecting.

itsthelittlethings

It sounds like a scam.

RacingDriver

jimjames said:

RacingDriver said:

I think you should stop talking to a scammer for hours

Alternatively it's beneficial to waste their time if you know it's a scam as it stops them using their time to con someone else

Agreed, but only if you are confident it is a scam and that you won't get convinced by the scammers into losing money