Investment Fraud | Ulster Bank

• Unexpected Phone Calls (Cold-calls) by someone you don’t know, trying to sell you investments and promising huge financial gains – hang up immediately!

• Out of the blue’ e-mails - don’t respond!

• People you don’t know who know a lot about you - Scammers will do their homework and make it their business to know as much about you as possible before they contacting you.

• People giving you details you think only a genuine investment company would have e.g. previous investment and share information – proceed with caution!

• People saying they’re from well-known investment companies - be sure to check independently.

Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is! 

• Take Five – before you do anything just take five minutes to make sure all makes sense, don’t rush and always take your time. https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/ (opens in new window)

• Seek reputable independent/legal advice before you commit to an investment.

• Before you hand over money ensure the firm you use is on the FCA register and is allowed to give financial advice. https://register.fca.org.uk/ (opens in new window)

• Check the FCA list of unauthorised businesses which is updated regularly. They list businesses believed to be involved in fraudulent activities. https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers (opens in new window)

For reporting urgent matters:

• In an emergency dial 999 and ask for the Police

• Action Fraud Telephone Reporting: 0300 123 2040

• Action Fraud Online Reporting: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ (opens in new window)

You should contact your local branch or relationship manager immediately to inform them if you think you’ve been subject to fraud or a scam. Always use the phone numbers on the back of your card.

Property Investment fraud occurs when scammers convince you to buy shares in a property or property bonds, often telling you that you are part of a group of investors (or a consortium). They will say they are buying houses to renovate, which you will make a profit on. The majority of these companies are not regulated or authorised by the FCA and may not even buy any properties to renovate and sell for profit. 

A binary option is a simple method of investing in the price of an asset going up or down, the payoff is either a fixed monetary amount or nothing at all. Some binary options may trade on regulated exchanges; they are generally unregulated and prone to fraud. 

(Advance fee fraud) occurs when fraudsters contact a previous investment fraud victim and offer to recover their lost investment, usually in exchange for an advance fee. The victim is thus defrauded twice as no genuine attempt to recover the original funds is ever made. These scams are run from what the fraudsters call ‘recovery rooms’ and might even be carried out by the same group.

Carbon credit originate from a range of emission reduction activities associated with removal of existing emissions from the atmosphere. These schemes have recently been reported more frequently as victims are approached by firms promoting carbon credit trading schemes.  The FCA has warned that no money has been made from investment in carbon credits.

Rogue wine traders sell people investments in wine which is either not the vintage quality it is claimed to be or simply does not exist in the first place. Trading in wine before it is bottled and released to the market (known as en primeur wine) is particular open to exploitation by fraudsters as it is not usually delivered until two to five years after the vintage.

Fraudsters will sell you Gold/Diamonds at much inflated prices; they may even charge you large sums for shipping and storage.  Some dealers may ask for proof of Identity, never send these as they may be used in other scams.