Scam warning - impersonation scams

We have issued the following scam warning for end investors:

1) Individuals are impersonating RLAM using ‘royallondonassetsltd’ and are in no way connected to RLAM

2) Fake bonds and high rate investment products are being sold using Royal London and RLAM names

We’re aware that fraudsters are using the names and company details of Royal London and Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) to sell fake ISA, bond and investment products.

These products:

• offer unusually high rates of return
• are being offered through fake comparison-style websites.

The websites have been set up by scammers to steal personal details and to make themselves appear genuine when they contact you.

If you visit these fake websites, you might be asked to provide some personal information. If you do, you could be contacted by fraudsters who claim to work for Royal London or RLAM. You might also be sent what look like Royal London documents or application forms in the post. These may ask you to provide payment or bank details.

What do you need to know?

These fraudsters aren’t connected to Royal London or RLAM in any way.

This type of fraud, where scammers pose as a legitimate company is called an ‘impersonation scam’ and the fake business or websites they set up are sometimes called ‘clone firms’.

We don’t sell bonds or investment products directly to customers. And we’d never cold call potential customers by phone or send unsolicited emails to get personal or banking information. If you’re contacted in this way, it isn’t from Royal London or RLAM.

What do you need to do?

If you’ve been contacted by fraudsters using the Royal London or RLAM name or if you’re worried that an approach from Royal London might not be genuine, please contact us to let us know.

Report fraud by calling us at 0345 602 1885 or by sending us an email.

You should also contact Action Fraud and your bank immediately if you’ve given personal information or bank details to fraudsters believing that they’re genuine.

We’re taking action to stop these scams

We take any attempt to defraud our customers and misuse the Royal London and RLAM names very seriously.

We’ve reported this impersonation scam to our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They’ve added a warning notice on their website to advise of clone firm activity using the Royal London name. For more details, please visit the FCA website.

We always report instances of fraud using our company name. If you’ve been approached by fraudsters in this way, please get in touch to let us know and we’ll send details of the fraud to the police via Action Fraud.

Warning signs to look out for

If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. With interest rates at an all-time low, you should be suspicious of investments that claim to guarantee a high return.

The FCA advise investors to reject any unexpected contacts about investment opportunities.

There are also warning signs you should look for that might suggest the ‘opportunity’ is really a scam. These include:

• You’re contacted unexpectedly by phone, online, post, or in person
• You’re put under time pressure to accept an opportunity or get a bonus or discount
• They share fake reviews they say are from other people who have invested
• They promise very high returns or much better interest rates than other providers
• They use fake websites and documents to pass themselves off as legitimate.

For more information about how to avoid investment scams, visit the FCA website.