Victims of ‘too good to be true’ investments targeted by new scam
Victims of ‘boiler room’ scams, where consumers are sold worthless business shares, are being targeted again by bogus law enforcement agencies who falsely claim to be investigating their cases, Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service is warning.
One Warwickshire resident, who lost thousands in a ‘boiler room’ scam was contacted by someone claiming to be a representative of the law enforcement agency of the country where the fraudsters were based.
They requested his personal and financial details, including share certificates information and bank details to ‘investigate’ the scam.
It transpired that the representative’s claims were entirely bogus and that those behind the ‘investigation’ were probably the same criminals that had perpetrated the original scam.
It is likely that they hoped the victim would provide enough personal and financial information to enable them to steal from his bank account or steal his identity.
To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, Trading Standards Officers advise the following:
Don’t provide personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly, by phone or email.
If an offer seems ‘too good to be true’ it probably is! Never part with your money until you have had time to consider and thoroughly research any offer.
To find out more about scams and frauds, visit our website: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards