The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ) on Tuesday issued a warning against the unauthorized activities of National Refund Group, which is offering investment services in the country without complying with financial legislation.
The FCA operates as a watchdog for financial trading, securities, and markets in the UK, overseeing a variety of assets and Compliance issues for traders and consumers. Tuesday's warning is the latest initiative in its efforts to clamp down on companies engaging in fraudulent activities.
The latest warning includes a company that approaches victims of investment fraud claiming that, for a fee, they can help them recover the sums invested and/or the losses incurred from unlawfully operating trading platforms.
This type of activity is typical of the fraud mechanism known as a recovery room.
The alert notes that these crooks buy and sell lists of victims so that they can call them promising to recover the money that they lost or profits they never received – for a fee in advance.
Scamming the Scammed Suckers
This type of activity is known as a ‘recovery room.’ Although some government agencies could help people who have lost money, they don’t charge a fee, guarantee money back, or give special preference to anyone who files a formal complaint.
The regulator cautions investors that these offers may be fraudulent because it is often very difficult to track down the person or group that has scammed them.
According to the FCA, National Refund Group is not an authorized investment firm or credit institution in the country and is thus not allowed to provide banking or investment services in or from Britain.
In order to prevent such fraudulent practices, FCA has issued several guidelines which encourage potential investors to be wary of promises of disproportionate returns. City watchdog has also advised the public to always verify the company’s identity (identity details, country of establishment, etc.) and to never trust a company if it cannot be clearly identified.
