Fraud Prevention

Warning to consumers

Fraudsters are using the details of firms which are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to try and convince consumers that they work for a genuine, authorised firm. These fraudulent firms are known as “clone firms”.

Fraudsters typically use this tactic when contacting people unexpectedly, so you should be especially wary if you have been ‘cold called’ or if you are contacted upon expressing interest in any service or investment linked to RC Brown Investment Management on a third-party website. We do not cold call consumers or offer our services in this way, so any contact you receive should be treated as suspicious. Fraudsters may use the name of genuine RC Brown trading names or employees, including the ‘firm reference number’ (FRN) issued by the FCA or individual’s reference numbers.

The FCA have provided further information on clone firms and other potential scams here: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/clone-firms-individuals .

Protect yourself

If you are offered investment opportunities, asked to transfer money or take similar action which you feel is unusual, please look at the following points before proceeding:

  • Ask for the name of the person and organisation which has contacted you
  • Check the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk to ensure they are authorised
  • Use the details on the FCA Register to contact the firm – these are updated daily so should not be out of date
  • 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the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768 if there are no contact details on the Register or you are told they are out of date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 FCA list of unauthorised firms and individuals to avoid doing business with at www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams
  • Verify our website and contact details by visiting Contact Us  
  • Visit https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart for further information on known scams

If you use an unauthorised firm to provide or receive access to financial products and services, you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Report a scam

If you are approached about a scam or you believe that you are a victim of fraud, you should tell the FCA using the fraud reporting form at www.fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam-unauthorised-firm, where you can find out about the latest scams.

You can also call the Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

If you have already paid money to fraudsters, you should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

You may also wish to a member of our team on:

Telephone: 0117 203 3460

Email: info@alpha-pm.co.uk

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