The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that it is investigating over 150 COVID-related scams since the beginning of the pandemic.
The latest data, obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by the Parliament Street think tank's cyber research team, revealed a total of 165 suspected scams reported to the FCA over the last five months. The latest scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic included phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, and social media.
Some fraudsters pretended to be an employee of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and targeted banks and financial service organisations seeking COVID-19 relief grants. Meanwhile, other fraudsters tried to steal the log-in credentials of HSBC customers with business accounts and obtain the passport details of financial services workers.
Experts have warned that the rise in COVID-related scams could leave financial services organisations open to the risk of financial crime.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a rapid increase in the number of financial crime scams entering circulation. There have been numerous reports of company owners and directors receiving highly realistic scam emails, requesting usernames, passwords, and bank details from workers,” said Max Worrall, a general markets sales manager at Encompass Corporation.
“These risks are a reminder of the threats posed to regulated firms seeking to enforce Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures and customer verification checks. It is therefore vital that companies have in place the necessary anti-financial crime systems, as well as the ability to identify and confirm that the customer is who they say they are.”
