The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has taken the unusual step of naming two firms suspected of trying to scam LCF mini-bond victims.

The compensation body says that LCF bondholders are being approached by scammers using the company names LC Holdings and Capital Finance.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is nearing the end of a government-backed compensation scheme which is returning over £114m to London Capital & Finance bondholder victims.

Mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance collapsed in 2019, ripping off some 11,625 investors who lost savings worth a total of £237m. A number of other mini-bond firms have also failed.

The FSCS said: “Fraudsters using the company names LC Holdings and Capital Finance are claiming to be able to get compensation for the full amount of your LCF investment. Both are scams, and there may well be others.”

“Be very wary of any emails, letters or calls claiming to be from LCF or someone else offering to help you get access to compensation. If you are unsure at any time if a call is genuine, please hang up and contact us directly using the information on our Contact us page.”

Victims of any frauds are asked to report it to Action Fraud.

London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) went into administration on 30 January 2019 and the FSCS declared it had failed on 9 January 2020.

FSCS has now paid compensation for 12,330 bonds under the government scheme, totalling over £114m. It says it expects to complete compensation on the remaining 88 bonds very shortly.