Investment Scam Checklist

Risk screen

Tick every warning sign that applies

You were contacted out of the blue by phone, message, email, social media or advert. They are pushing urgency, secrecy or a limited allocation. The return sounds guaranteed, unusually high or low-risk. They asked you to move money to a new account, crypto platform or overseas route. You cannot verify the firm and contact details on the FCA Register. The firm name is similar to a real firm but the website, phone or email details differ. They discourage you from speaking to your bank, partner, family or adviser. Someone offers to recover lost money for an upfront fee.

Open FCA Register If you already paid

Working rule

Do not use contact details from the offer

If a firm claims to be authorised, find it independently on the FCA Register and use the contact details shown there. Clone firms often copy names, logos and registration numbers while changing phone numbers, domains or payment instructions.

Sources

Sources and useful links

FCA: Financial Services Register
FCA: how to check a firm is authorised
FCA: fraudulent payments and APP fraud
NCSC: how to spot scam messages and calls
GOV.UK: report suspicious emails, texts and websites