Investors have lost £25m to screen sharing scams as cases rise 86% year on year, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.

In screen-sharing scams fraudsters persuade victims to share their screen with them and then use the ruse to access investments and banking.

The FCA says it has seen 2,142 cases of screen sharing scams since July 2020.

Victims have ranged from age 18 to over 70 years old.

In one case, a 59-year-old who was persuaded to download remote desktop software to secure an investment, lost over £48,000 while scammers accessed her banking details, her pension, and applied for loans on her behalf.

Scammers use platforms such as Teams, TeamViewer and Zoom to access consumers' financial data. Some scammers also 'embed' themselves in victims’ digital devices to access online banking and investment details.

Only 51% of investors said they would check if a company appears on the FCA’s Warning List when deciding if an investment opportunity is legitimate, according to an FCA survey of 2,000 investors.

The survey found that 47% of investors would not see a request to use screen sharing software or an app to access their device as a 'red flag'.

Of the 91% who said they would never share a PIN with a stranger, 85% would not view a request by a website to use or download software as a warning sign from someone seeking to gain illegal access to personal information.

While 88% said they would check if their investments were offered or sold by FCA firms, 10% of people would still trust their ‘gut instinct’ with an investment opportunity from someone they did not know without making proper checks, like ensuring the firm or the financial promotion was properly authorised.

While older investors were more likely to fall victim to a screen-sharing scam, the FCA research found that 26% of those aged 18-34 would agree to screen-sharing their online banking or investment portal with someone they had not met.

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Investment scams can happen over many months, but sharing your screen without making the proper checks can change everything in an instant.

"Once scammers gain to your screen, they have complete control. That means access to your sensitive banking and investment information, the freedom to browse at their leisure, and the ability to take whatever details they want. It can affect any investor, no matter how experienced.”

• The FCA’s consumer research was conducted by Opinium with over 2,000 respondents aged between 18-55+.