FPW and Protecting your information
FPW and Protecting your information
The tactics used by scammers and fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated. According to Action Fraud, in March the reported cost of COVID-19 related scams was over £800,000. AgeUK have highlighted a range of potential scams ranging from approaches from supposed travel agents, tour operators, airlines, and cruise companies; to emails that included malicious attachments supposedly providing COVID-19 relating information in the local area.
To protect your information the following steps, whilst perhaps rudimentary, are important –
- Avoid or reject unsolicited phone calls.
- Expand the email address pane to see exactly who the sender is.
- As a general rule of thumb, if it sounds too good to be true if usually is.
- No legitimate company will ask you for secure information such as PIN codes or passwords.
In respect of your relationship with Financial Planning Wales –
- We provide financial advice to UK individuals and Companies only and do not operate in any other jurisdictions.
- We do not hold client money; if you are asked to send money (other than settling an invoice) to an account in the name of Financial Planning Wales, please ignore the request and report it to us immediately.
- If you have any doubts at all as to the validity of communications from ourselves please contact either Alan, Andrew or Jon directly by telephone.
In most circumstances the providers that we recommend are unlikely to contact you directly; if you do receive a call from anyone indicating they work for a provider please –
- Do not provide any personal information to them.
- If possible, obtain a name and contact number from the individual.
- Inform the individual that your adviser will be in touch with them directly and then end the call.
- Contact Financial Planning Wales who can confirm if this is genuine.
Please take extra care and always be vigilant in order to protect your information.