The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has warned LCF victims currently receiving compensation cheques that they could be targeted by scammers.

The FSCS says weekend press reports suggest that LCF bondholders are being contacted through social media or rung up by individuals asking questions about their compensation and offering ‘help’.

Thousands of LCF victims are currently receiving payouts from a government compensation scheme which has paid out £91.1m in the past three weeks alone.

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

The FSCS has stressed that it does not use social media to contact customers directly about their claims or compensation.

It says those LCF victims who have yet to receive compensation do not need to do anything and do not need to use a third party. It says any LCF customers who receive calls purporting to be from the FSCS should hang up and phone the FSCS directly on 0800 091 0030.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has so far paid out £91.1m to 7,750 LCF bondholders under the government’s compensation programme with the first compensation letters sent in November.

Over 10,000 cheques have been issued, with 84% of eligible bondholders getting compensation under the scheme. The FSCS expects another 200 bondholders to receive compensation by the end of the year.

The compensation body said it expects all LCF bondholders eligible under the government scheme to receive their offer 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.