The Institute of Financial Planning has warned members to be on the look out for hackers who have been targeting financial services firms.
IFP board member Melony Holman CFP^CM wants companies to be more wary after the FCA revealed details of customer accounts being hacked.
Advisers have received emails which appear to be genuinely from their clients – coming from the correct address.
Firms have been notified of a supposed change in bank details and once the details have been updated the fraudster instructs for an investment to be surrendered and proceeds paid into the new account.
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Although the client's email address appears genuine there are a number of similarities in the cases identified so far:
- The language used by the fraudsters is broken English and the emails contain a number of basic grammar and spelling mistakes.
- The requests to cash or withdraw money are always urgent and the instruction asks for the money to be transferred via Telegraphic Transfer or CHAPS.
The FCA informed the IFP about this scam.
Ms Holman, who is also chair of the IFP's membership committee, said: "Firms need to keep vigilant on the types of fraud that they could be a victim of.
"Managing the risk of fraud is becoming more of a focus on this area by the regulator.
"Don't think it will never happen to you. There is a lot of resource available to firms to help them identify and manage the risks - firms just need to take time, as ever, to address and document this risk assessment."
Read more advice on avoiding fraud from the IFP HERE.