Protect yourself from fraud

Our priority is that you feel secure when dealing with us.  The following practical advice is offered to help protect you from fraud.

Fraudsters will often attempt to obtain personal information and money from customers of financial companies.   Financial crime methods used are constantly evolving, so it’s important that you remain aware of the types of fraud people are becoming victim to so that you are better able to protect yourself.

How to stay safe  

Often fraudsters will impersonate employees of the company. They will frequently use the brand logo and wording from the firms website to create fake material (documentation, email addresses, websites, etc) to impersonate the company.

Please be alert when:

•    Someone calls, texts or emails you with an ‘unbelievable’ offer.

•    You are asked to provide personal information by replying to an emailer or asked to click through to a website.

•    You receive an email with poor grammar, spelling or punctuation.

 •    The email source is unclear or a company name is slightly misspelled.   

We never ‘cold call’ 

A genuine investment company will never ‘cold call’ you.  Don’t respond to anyone who attempts to sell you products, investments or bonds with the promise of financial gain, simply hang up.  You may be offered advice over the telephone, have payments requested from you, or be emailed links to bogus websites.

Resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the claim or urgent the situation.  If something seems too good to be true it often is.

Be wary of emails with urgent language, poor grammar, misspellings or an unrecognised sender email address.  Don’t click on links or open attached files if you have any concerns.

Never provide personal details in response to an email.  You will never be asked for this via email from genuine company.

Never send funds to anyone you don’t know.  Seek independent financial advice and/or legal advice before making an investment. 

Specific threats

‍Phishing

Phishing communications are made to look as though they have been sent by a genuine sender.

They are designed to trick you into inadvertently disclosing confidential information to fraudsters, or to paying sums to apparent legitimate accounts.

Phishing attempts can happen, for example, through letters, phone calls, emails, texts pretending to be from your bank or fund manager, and social media posts.

When you respond to a fake email or letter this may lead you to a spoofed website.  If you click on a link or open an attachment this can implant malicious software or a virus onto your device.

Always be cautious with any communication which pressures you into acting quickly, into making a payment you are not expecting, or asks for confidential information. Always think twice before clicking on links or opening attachments from unverified sources.

Marlborough wishes to specifically inform investors that communications received from any email address shown below are not a representative of our organisation and you should stop any further contact immediately.

marlboroughfund.com

Want to check contact is genuine?  

If in doubt about a contact claiming to work for us, don’t offer any personal information, hang up and call us on 0800 023 4567 or+44 207 964 1000 from overseas.  Our lines are open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm.  

If you think you’ve been caught out  

If you think you’ve been the victim of a scam, or that someone is trying to defraud you, it’s important to tell someone. Talk to a family member or a friend, don’t feel embarrassed. Fraudsters are often highly sophisticated and it’s all too easy to be caught out.

You can check what support there is available from the government or consumer advice bodies. A search online for “fraud prevention” or “report fraud” may help.

Finally, if you’ve been caught out, it’s important you report it to the authorities (listed below). If you report it, then they’ll be able to act. There may be others who have fallen for the same scam and your information may help an ongoing investigation or prevent another person having the same experience.

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime where you should report if you’ve been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can talk to a fraud and cybercrime specialist on 0300 123 2040. You can also report using their online reporting service at actionfraud.police.uk

In Scotland, this service is provided by Police Scotland.  

If you’re concerned about a financial scam, you can also report this to the industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). UK financial services firms must be registered with the FCA and they’ll investigate any unauthorised firm or individual trying to sell you financial services. The FCA can be found online at fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam-us