FCA Identifies Clone Firms Imitating Hargreaves Lansdown and Westpac

<p>The
Financial Conduct Authority (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/fca/" target="_blank" rel="follow">FCA</a>) has published warnings about two clone firms
falsely claiming to represent legitimate financial services providers in the
UK. These fake companies are using the names and details of retail trading
company Hargreaves Lansdown and banking giant Westpac to scam people into
investing money that is unlikely to be returned.</p><p>FCA Issues Warnings against
Clone Firms Targeting UK Investors</p><p>According
to the FCA, the Hargreaves Lansdown clone operates under various names and
contact details. It is falsely claiming the company number and FCA product
reference number of the real Hargreaves Lansdown PLC to appear genuine. The
fraudsters are contacting potential investors via phone and email, as well as through
websites such as hl-invest.email and corporate-hl.co.uk.</p><p>Similarly,
the Westpac clone firm "WestpacInt’l or “Westpacint Bank" promotes
its services through the website westpacint.com/home and phone number
+61488827045. This entity has no connection to the Westpac Banking Corporation.</p><p>The FCA
warns that any investments made through these <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/c/clone/">clone</a> firms will not be protected
by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). People are unlikely to
get their money back if the fake companies cease operations.</p><p>"We
urge consumers to check the FCA Register before dealing with any financial
services company," said Mark Steward, the Executive Director of FCA.
"Authorized firms must be registered with us, which gives customers
greater protection. If in doubt, contact the firm directly using the details on
our register."</p><p>The
warnings are the latest efforts by the FCA to combat an increasing number of
clone firm investment scams. Reports of such frauds have risen 29% recently.
Consumers can report suspicious firms to the FCA by calling the regulator or
using its online contact form.</p><p>The
strategy of establishing clone firms is regrettably widespread. In November,
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/etoro-impersonation-scam-fca-issues-warning-on-clone-firm-deception/" target="_blank" rel="follow">the FCA warned about clones of well-known platforms</a> such as the social
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/t/trading-platform/">trading platform</a> eToro, and scammers pretending to be <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/clone-firm-impersonates-legitimate-ig-markets-fca-warning/" target="_blank" rel="follow">the publicly listed IG
Group</a>. Additionally, in the same month, fraudsters exploited the names and
trademarks of Santander <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/fca-issues-warning-against-saxo-bank-impersonators/" target="_blank" rel="follow">and Saxo Bank</a>.</p><p>Beware the Clones</p><p>Clone firms
are fake companies set up by scammers to impersonate real, FCA-authorized
investment firms. They copy the name, address, firm reference number, and even
the website of legitimate companies. These fraudsters then use aggressive sales
tactics to convince potential victims to invest in worthless or non-existent
products.</p><p>Once they
have created a convincing fake company, the scammers contact potential targets
through channels like social media ads, search engine ads, cold calls, and
emails. They direct victims to replica websites that look almost identical to
the real company's site. On these fake sites, they promote fraudulent
"investments" that purport to be offered by the legitimate firm they
are impersonating.</p><p>Retail
investors are particularly vulnerable to these tactics. The scammers sound
authoritative and trustworthy, providing documents and literature with the
cloned company's branding. Unwitting investors can easily be convinced to
transfer life savings into these fake products. On average, victims of clone
firm scams lose £47,000.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.