Some of the best known asset and wealth management brands have been subject to ongoing cloning attempts by unregulated entities, according to continued warnings being issued by the Central Bank of Ireland, which has seen its Warning Notice list extended even just in the past two months.
Brands targeted include RBS, LGT, Abrdn, Aviva, Danske Bank and many others.
In its most recent Warning Notice, the regulator of investment funds in the Republic of Ireland, identified a cloning attempt of 'RBS'.
"It has come to the attention of the Central Bank of Ireland (‘Central Bank') that a fraudulent entity, calling itself RBS Asset Management (Dublin) Limited, has been operating as an investment firm / investment business firm in the State in the absence of an appropriate authorisation. In this instance, the fraudulent entity cloned and impersonated a legitimate Central Bank authorised firm in order to deceive customers. The scam entity reached out to consumers via email seeking to sell fake investments using the prospectus titled: "RBS Fixed Rate Term Deposit" and "RBS Fixed Rate Treasury Bond"," the Bank stated.
"This fraudulent entity has cloned the details (name, logo and the registered address) of the legitimate firm, RBS Asset Management (Dublin) Limited, which is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland. It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the Central Bank authorised firm and the unauthorised entity."
|
Recent Warning Notices |
|
Source: Central Bank of Ireland |
The Bank, as regulator, notes that not only is authorisation required, but if dealings are done with unauthorised firms, there is no elegibility for acces to the country's Compensation Scheme.
It further warns: "Fraudsters are increasingly using legitimate firms' details to add an air of legitimacy to their fraud. The fraudsters will 'borrow' some or all of the legitimate information of an authorised / legitimate firm for the purpose of this fraud. They may quote authorisation numbers / company registration numbers and links to seemingly legitimate websites and even provide the real address of an authorised / legitimate firm. Consumers are advised to check our register to verify a firm's details and to call the firm back directly using its advertised phone number. Always access the register from our website, rather than through links in emails or on a firm's / person's website."
