Investment fraud/scandal comes in many forms, but is typically when someone poses as an investment service provider, Financial Advisor or fund manager to convince you to transfer large sums of money into a company or service that doesn’t actually exist.
They can create convincing-looking websites and adverts, and send you emails, texts and automated voice messages offering investments that sound too good to be true.
Investment scams aim to get unsuspecting people to hand over money – they can seem perfectly legitimate, appearing knowledgeable with websites, testimonials and marketing material.
The most famous kind of investment scam is a Ponzi Scheme, where money is collected from new investors to pay previous investors. Eventually, the money owed is more than the money being collected and the scheme collapses, leaving all the investors out of pocket.
Today, due to the internet and digital communications, investment scams can be much more complex. Some of these scams are so convincing, even professional investors have fallen victim to them.
Since the pensions freedoms were introduced in April 2015, people from the age of 55 are particularly vulnerable to investment scams because they can access cash lump sums from pension pots. However, it’s worth being aware that scammers lie and convince people of any age to transfer into other (illegitimate) vehicles before 55.
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