This is a message for all private investors.
Recently we have been seeing a rise in private investors receiving unsolicited cold calls and communications from third parties alleging that any investments they hold in private companies may be about to fail or go into administration. This could possibly be the first step in a potential scam called “recovery room fraud”.
The FCA have been alerted of a rise in this kind of scam and have released an official statement and guidelines on how to deal with anyone you suspect may be trying to target you in this type of scheme.
We would first like to refer you to the FCA’s official website for further information on recovery room fraud. Please see the link below.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/recovery-room-scams
If you have ever requested information about investment products and services in the past from different companies, please be aware your personal contact information may be being held on a number of third party databases. With an increase in your personal information being held with numerous third parties comes an increase in potential for data breaches and / or for your information to be transferred to other parties of which you did not give your permission. This can lead to unsolicited communications.
We have been made aware of a number of clients in recent times who have been cold called by individuals who purport to offer the ability to legally recover monies from private investment schemes either in failed or active companies for a fixed fee OR by providing them with further information about yourself for “no win, no fee” claims. It is our belief that these companies may be trying to obtain further personal information in order to further sell data on for a price.
To allay any concerns you may have about the protection of your personal information, we would like to make you aware that Clarion take our responsibilities as professional data handlers very seriously. As such we will never share your personal information with any third parties without your expressed permission in line with UK laws and regulations for the protection of consumer data.
Unfortunately that is to say that other third parties may not be as stringent in their handling of your personal information as we strive to be. As such if you believe you have been contacted by any third party via any unsolicited communications we would urge you to follow the steps and guidelines published by the FCA.
Should you have any queries or concerns in regards to this message we would ask you to please get in touch with ourselves directly for any further information or assistance that we can provide.
We understand that any communications of this nature may be somewhat unnerving to receive. However we would like to put your mind at ease that we are being diligent in our attention to and monitoring of these types of trends, and that we will always work to ensure your personal information is as secure as possible.
I hope this communication can assist in providing some clarity and comfort for anyone who may have been affected by these issues and wish you all a pleasant rest of your week.
For anyone who would like any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Jason St Pierre - Director