Millions of people fall victim to scams every year, from experienced investors to people dealing with a large sum for the first time. They may offer to sell shares that turn out to be worthless or non-existent, or to buy shares at an inflated price in return for an upfront payment. While high profits are promised, if you buy or sell shares in this way you will probably lose your money.
In particular, it has come to our attention that individuals have been sent letters purporting to come from Ergomed, together with a contract note asking for payment to be made to an account in settlement of a share purchase. These are not from Ergomed and the adviser referred to in these letters, Applied Finance Group, has not been engaged by Ergomed for any purposes and you should not transfer any money to them.
Protect yourself
Investment scams are designed to look like genuine investments. You should take these steps to spot and avoid them before handing over any money:
- You should treat any call, email or letter with extreme caution. Get the name of the person and the organisation contacting you.
- Check the FCA Warning List to ensure they are authorised.
- Use the details on the Financial Services Register to contact the firm.
- Call the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768 if there are no contact details on the Register or you are told they are out of date.
- Search the list of unauthorised firms and individuals to avoid doing business with at www.fca.org.uk scams
Report a scam
If you think you have been contacted by fraudsters you should tell the FCA using the share fraud reporting form or call the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.
If you have lost money to investment fraud, you should report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online at www.actionfraud.police.uk
