The FCA has warned that crooks have been issuing fake letters which purport to have been sent by Sarah Pritchard, the regulator’s deputy chief executive.
It said the letters sent out in March and April referenced a fake FCA employee.
The FCA said the letter mentions a supervisory review in relation to a bank and includes a fake FCA phone number.
It urged anyone receiving the letter to report the details to the FCA by calling it on 0300 500 0597 or using its contact form.
The FCA warned: “Scammers may attempt to trick your firm into revealing important information by pretending to work for the FCA. They may reach out to you via email, phone or post, and use the name of an FCA employee to make you think the communication is genuine.
“While we do have measures in place to try and prevent certain scams, it’s important to check the communications you receive from us. Particularly if it’s unexpected.”
It has urged Financial Planners and advisers and others in the financial services industry to search its list of the fake FCA communications the regulator is aware of, and find out how to check whether a communication you’ve received from the FCA is genuine. The fake FCA communications alert is here.
Last year the FCA warned that crooks were using fake email addresses @members-fca.org and @member-fca.org. It said it only sends emails from addresses ending in @fca.org.uk
The regulator added: “If you're worried about a potential scam or you think your firm may have been targeted by a fraudster, report it to the FCA.”