How Advisers Can Help Clients Identify and Avoid Financial Scams

In this article, we collate imposter calls, the six warning signs of a scam, and the technology-powered tactics to be aware of.

Resources for your clients 

As a specialist later life lender, we support advisers with educational resources for clients and adviser-specific information, such as our vulnerable customers FAQs section and Consumer Duty page.

We’ve developed several resources to help you educate clients on financial scams. You can share our blog on how to stay safe online and our detailed guide on avoiding financial scams with your clients. Scammers do change their methods, so to help your clients stay informed, we’ve summarised some of the most current scams to be aware of.

Imposter calls and messages to be aware of 

People aged 55–64 arethe most targeted group for investment fraud in the UK and 38% of romance scam victims are over 55. Imposter calls are often used and include a sense of urgency. It’s good to remind clients that this sense of urgency is a warning sign of a scam, regardless of which tactic the fraudster picks.

• Bank imposter: A client’s bank may call or message them saying their account is at risk of fraud and ask them to move their money to a di­fferent account.

• Broadband/phone provider imposter: A fraudster imitating a trusted broadband and phone provider may claim account or connection problems and ask for a client’s details, including computer passwords, to fix the problem.

• The police: A common scam is the police saying they have apprehended someone attempting to use a client’s debit/credit card, and they want the client to provide the full card details to confirm the fraud.

• The tax offi­ce/HMRC: They may say a client has an unpaid tax bill, and they will be arrested if they don’t pay them over the phone within 2 hours.

• Investment/pension scams: The fraudster will convince the client to invest in their business and may even convince them to hand over their computer and banking passwords to apply for loans in the client’s name. Not only that, but they may also coach the client on what to say to their bank to assure the bank that the client isn’t being scammed.

• Relative needing client’s help: This could also happen by text message, where they say they have lost their phone and need the client to immediately transfer them some money to help them.

• Romance scams: Fake profiles will be very convincing and are designed to lead clients to believe that they are talking to a real person. The scammer may convince the client it is a real romance, and to transfer them money so they can come to the UK.

• Email/text message scams: These are designed to look like they are from a genuine company and usually contain a link or online form asking for personal information, including passwords and banking details.

6 tips to stop scammers

As an adviser, you form a critical line of defence by helping clients question urgency, verify sources, and pause before making irreversible transactions. You can only support your clients effectively if you know how to identify a scam.

1. The rushing element: If a client is being rushed to transfer or invest money, encourage them to STOP, and take their time to make full checks that this is genuine.

2. Check the email sender is genuine: Encourage clients to click on the sender’s email to see the full email address, and check this is the correct email address for the company in question. Some may be very close to the real one, so speak to the company in question if unsure.

3. Check the caller is genuine: If they say they are calling from a client’s bank, and the client isn’t sure, they can end the call and if possible, use a di­fferent phone to ring their bank by using the phone numbers on cards or bank statements. The fraudulent caller may give the client a number to call to verify that they are genuine. It’s important that the client doesn’t use the number they provide, as this is part of the scam.

4. Never provide any personal details without validation checks first, the fraudsters are very good at sounding convincing.

5. Encourage clients to always seek independent financial or legal advice if a proposition involves money, time, or a commitment.

6. Always report if you spot a scam in progress or if a client has been scammed. Reporting the scam raises awareness and makes it harder for the scammers to be successful.

The future of financial scams and fraud 

Imposter calls remain some of the most popular options to target clients over 55 with new tactics emerging that use different technologies.

1. AI-driven scams

Making your credentials clear and easy for clients to verify by contacting the FCA is important, as scammers are using AI technology to create fictional financial and legal advisers. These tactics include deepfake videos and highly persuasive AI-generated scripts. The expert the client is talking to may even have a popular social media persona to expand their reach and strengthen the illusion.

2. Fake FCA scams

Clients may be contacted by someone posing as the FCA, either claiming that funds from a crypto wallet that was illegally opened in the client’s name have been recovered or that there’s been a resolution to the client’s outstanding compensation. The client is then convinced to share personal details or pay fees to retrieve lost funds.

3. Spear-phishing 

Fraudsters already have some personal information and use this to build trust when contacting clients. For example, the fraudster may know a client’s date of birth, thereby making the scam more believable. A recent example of spear-phishing comes from O2 account holders who were then persuaded to share a one-time passcode triggered by the fraudster over the phone, which granted fraudsters full access to their O2 account.

Where you and your clients can get help 

If you think you've uncovered a scam, contact Action Fraud online or call on 0300 123 2040.

Additional resources off­ering clients help and information regarding scams can be found here: www.ageuk.org.uk or www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

The FCA has a variety of scam prevention resources, including a consumer-facing unauthorised firms warning list, and Cifas provides tools for financial advisers to respond to scams and identify misuse alongside a useful intelligence report.

Explore other tools and resources to support customers

There’s a lot to keep track of when it comes to ensuring clients understand lifetime mortgages, as well as ensuring clients are in good hands post-completion.

To help you with this, we’ve collated our customer support tools which cover Consumer Duty resources, the care customers receive post-completion, and how customers can stay on track of their account and any payments they may be making via our online account management platform.  Find out more about our customer support tools here >