Fraud occurs when someone obtains your assets by a deception of some kind. Fraudsters can be articulate and appear financially knowledgeable. They may have credible websites, testimonials and marketing materials.
We have in place robust infrastructure and procedures to combat scams and other frauds, but we encourage you to remain vigilant and patient at all times.
If you have any concerns that a scam or other fraud is taking place, contact your adviser immediately before you take any action, or email us directly at enquiries@benchmarkcapital.co.uk.
If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Scammers will usually call you out of the blue, but contact can also be by email, text message, post, word of mouth or at a seminar or exhibition.
The most common financial scams can be viewed on the Financial Conduct Authority website www.fca.org.uk and include:
Investment fraudsters will use a variety of techniques including:
How to avoid scams – key steps
If you have been scammed
Report it: you can report the firm or scam to the FCA by contacting their Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768. For products FCA doesn’t regulate or if you’ve lost money in a scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk
Try to stop any transactions: contact the relevant financial services firm e.g. your bank or investment manager, notify them of the scam and see if they can stop any transaction or freeze your account.
Be wary of future scams: fraudsters are likely to target you again or sell your details to other criminals e.g. an offer to get your money back or to buy back the investment after you pay a fee.
For more information, please see:
https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart
https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/fraud
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/how-to-avoid-scams
https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
https://www.met.police.uk/
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/beginners-guide-to-scams
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-fraud-authority/about
http://www.cifas.org.uk/
For new sales enquiries, please call 01403 334411
For all other enquiries, please call 01403 334477