Avoiding financial fraud

Anyone can fall victim to financial fraud or a scam. As our everyday actions become more and more digitised it is more important than ever to remain aware of how scams work and what to do if you think you’ve been scammed.

Take 5 (stop, challenge, protect)

At Fairstone we have backed the national Take 5 awareness campaign which encourages us all to:

STOP – Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

CHALLENGE – Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try and rush or panic you.

PROTECT – Contact your bank immediately if you think you have fallen for a scam and report it to action fraud.

It is important to remember fraudsters can often try and impersonate a legitimate firm. There are many signs of fraud some more obvious than others. Most commonly they can attempt to contact you via:

• A cold call
• An email address that is filled with random numbers or is misspelt
• Via social media apps

They may also ask you to click on a link giving them access to your device and personal information. They can also:

• Try and entice you by mentioning guarantees, or high returns
• Request upfront payments
• Impersonate a legitimate firm and represent themselves as an employee using their name and details stored on the Financial Services register

Six tips to improve your cyber security

While it is important to be aware of the different ways scammers can strike, there are steps you can take to protect your digital accounts. You can:

• Use a strong password and separate passwords for your email
• Create strong passwords using three random words
• Save your passwords in your browser
• Update your devices and protect yourself from viruses and other malware
• Back up your data and keep your software up to date
• Control who has access to your data and never share your password

Protecting yourself from financial fraud

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shared further information on the general things we could all do to avoid scams:

• Treat all unexpected calls, emails, and text messages with caution. Don’t assume they’re genuine, even if the person seems to know some basic information about you
• Don’t be pressured into acting quickly. A genuine bank or financial services firm won’t mind waiting if you want time to think
• Never give out your bank account or credit card details unless you are certain who you are dealing with
• If you are buying a financial product such as a loan, insurance, investments, or pension, only deal with a FCA authorised firm. Check the FS register to see if the firm is registered
• Double-check the URL and contact details of a firm in case it’s a ‘clone firm’ pretending to be a real firm, such as your bank or a genuine investment firm
• Check the list of unauthorised firms and individuals we’ve received complaints about. If the firm isn’t on our list, don’t assume it’s legitimate – it may not have been reported to us yet
• Check your bank account and credit card statements regularly
• Don’t give access to your device by downloading software or an app from a source you don’t trust. Scammers may be able to view, take control of your device and access your bank account

Get ScamSmart

You can find further information here ScamSmart – Avoid investment and pension scams | FCA

If you are worried about fraud on your card or bank account or if you suspect your financial details have been compromised, you should report it immediately to your bank or financial services provider.

You can also contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

If you live in Scotland, you should report to Police Scotland by calling 101 or contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000.

Don’t forget, if you’re ever not sure you can always contact your financial adviser for clarification.

If you are a Fairstone client

If you are a Fairstone client, we encourage you to remain vigilant. Your adviser or dedicated Fairstone staff member can contact you by phone, email, face to face meetings or video calls. Please always check the domain names of any emails received and save our number in your phone.

For enhanced security we ask that you never email your bank account details unless you password protect a document and inform your adviser of the password independently.

Finally, we will never text you requesting your bank details and personal information so please be wary of any messages and report them to your adviser.

We are here to help and if you are at all concerned, please do get in touch.

For further information please see our scam awareness page.