LCF administrator Smith & Williamson has been shown copies of the emails sent to LCF bondholders.

They encourage the reader to call a phone number and ‘lodge a claim into the government scheme’, ‘lodge claims directly with our financial intermediary’, ‘claim your personal settlement’ or other similar phrases.

They also threaten that a ‘failure to act’ will result in you ‘waiving your right’ to money or ‘receiving nothing’.

The phone number quoted in the emails can be found on a website which the FCA has warned is unauthorised.

The FSCS warned LCF bondholders to be “extremely wary” of any contact that is not directly from the FSCS or Smith & Williamson and to contact them if they are unsure of the provenance of an email.

The compensation body also reminded bondholder that they do not need to do anything to receive compensation under the government scheme and said it will be in touch with all bondholders by 20 April.

The government expects to pay out £120m in total under its scheme to 8,800 victims hit when the £236m mini-bond firm LCF collapsed. The FSCS is administering the scheme for the government.

The recipients of the new government-funded payouts are those who have not already been compensated by the FSCS directly.

The FSCS previously warned LCF victims currently receiving compensation cheques that they could be targeted by scammers. 

The FSCS warned LCF victims to be wary of any direct contact, especially through social media, “as it may be a scam.”