Scammers are impersonating the Financial Services Compensation Scheme by circulating emails offering "unclaimed outstanding funds" to consumers.
An email sent to a British citizen living in Canada on January 28, seen by FTAdviser, originated from a Russian domain and asked the recipient for personal details in order to claim an outstanding fund worth €2.4m.
Whilst littered with grammatical errors and not personally addressed to the recipient, the email used a fake FSCS address and was signed off using the scheme’s details.
It also included a fake FSCS weblink flagged as suspicious by computer software.
A spokesperson for the FSCS said: "FSCS has received a small number of individual queries regarding phishing emails that attempt to use FSCS branding in the form of fake contact email address and names.
"The emails attempt to coax individuals to provide their personal information by telling them they have money outstanding and that they should register a claim by confirming key personal details."
The spokesperson said the FSCS does not contact consumers in this manner and urged any email recipients not to reply or provide any personal information, so as to avoid falling victim to a potential scam or fraud.
He added: "We have assured individuals that FSCS would never write to customers asking for their personal details as these are managed securely when an application is submitted to the scheme.
"We are putting an updated message on our website to highlight this scam and further warn people."
rachel.addison@ft.com
