Lenders call on FCA to crack down on copycat scam artists
Lenders have called on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to crack down on the number of scammers imitating the regulator to defraud consumers.
It comes after the financial watchdog reported more than 7,700 instances of scammers posing as the regulator so far this year. The number of these copycat scams has more than doubled since 2021.
The FCA said that a common tactic used by the fraudsters is to tell people they were owed compensation, and then ask for bank details or a processing fee to arrange ‘payment’.
Read more: FCA warns consumers to watch out for signs of loan fee fraud
The FCA has warned people that it will never contact people in this way, and urged any consumer who is being asked for personal information to hang up the phone or ignore the email.
However, lenders believe that more could be done to clamp down on the scams.
“Scammers are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to steal money – and it is worrying to see more fraudsters impersonating trusted sources like the FCA to deceive victims,” said Emma Lovell, chief executive of the Lending Standards Board.
Read more: Crowd2Fund phishing scam: Hackers had access for less than one hour
“The consistent factor across all scams is the serious, emotional implications they have on their victims. It is therefore vital that scam prevention is at the top of the agenda for the financial services sector, so we can protect customers from the distress and turmoil scams cause – while halting the funding of these criminal enterprises.”
The FCA said it has been “ramping up” its scrutiny of scams, and is working with the government to ban cold calling for all consumer financial services and products.
Read more: £178m lost to impersonation scams last year
