Scam Alert!

If you receive any telephone calls or correspondence asking you for money, bank account details, or anything you believe to be fraudulent, or if you believe any of the following has happened to you, please contact us. You should also report the details to Action Fraud (details below).

The Resort Group (TRG)

We have been made aware of attempts by scammers to defraud members of the public who hold TRG assets, including those who hold their assets within a pension.

The scammers make contact saying that they have buyers lined up to purchase the asset and offer a very attractive purchase price.  Once they gain your interest, they say that there will be some up-front costs, such as taxes and solicitor’s fees, which you will need to pay first in order to complete the deal.  They promise documents will then be signed and funds will be transferred.

In this case, the scammers posed as a firm called Dixon Collins, allegedly based in Malaysia, who said there was a firm in China who would purchase the property (however scammers may use different names or countries eg Euro Resales Limited, travelandleisure.co.uk).  As is typical with these types of fraud, once payment is made, all communication ceases, and the money is usually lost.  This is known as a “Payment in Advance” scam.

GPG Partnership (formerly Dolphin)

A recent scam for this is a letter purporting to be from Hatton Financial Services Limited about an urgent claim to be made on the UK company for German Property Group (GPG).  There is no UK claim: only the one already made on your behalf to the German Courts.  For further details about this scam please check the FCA webpage German Property Group (GPG) companies enter preliminary bankruptcy proceedings | FCA (Note: This page does not include the latest scam but it does cover the liquidation of GPG / Dolphin).

Members who invested in GPG loan notes have received further unsolicited contact from companies purporting to represent Rowanmoor, requesting personal contact details and referring to the recovery of funds invested from Rowanmoor.  One of these is a company claiming to be The Chartered Trading Standards Institute. Do not engage with anyone purporting to represent this firm.

There are also companies purporting to represent the liquidator for GPG or GPG itself, mentioning monies held that are due to you (may mention escrow accounts), but these are false.  The names used may include:

• CSL Finance;
• Acebuche Administration;
• German Property Group Limited with a Birmingham address;
• BN3 Asset Management;
• Investment Claims Limited;
• Asgard Management PLC;
• M.G.E. Holdings;
• Oakwell Capital Partners.

Please be aware that no third party company alleging to represent GPG’s liquidator or Rowanmoor will be in contact with you. Any returns from the investment will only be available once the liquidation has been completed by the German liquidator.

Storefirst

We are aware of attempts by scammers to defraud members of the public who hold Storefirst assets, including those who hold their assets within a pension.

The newest scam is to claim to be from the liquidators and is on headed paper from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute asking you to contact GMR Capital (a legitimate firm) on 0800 098 614.  The letter also talks about Wine and includes a copy of a WU4 form with the legitimate company with their information on it (it is a different telephone number to the one given in the letter).  Do not respond or communicate with anyone claiming to represent this firm.

Another scam is to claim to be representing buyers of Storefirst called Dubai Investment Fund via London Bridge 2 PCC.  This is false and is designed to trick you intopurchasing ‘indemnity insurance’ that does not exist.  If you have been contacted please report it to Action Fraud and take no action.

A previous and re-occurring scam involves the scammers pretending to be The Insolvency Service and may use an email address the same as or similar to investigation@insolvencyservicegov.com or  info@is-service.co.uk. It may claim that Store First overcharged its customers or did not purchase Store Pods and that the monies from this were held in an escrow account.  They will claim a section 25 has been filed at the High Court against store first ltd and that Falcon Holding Limited are managing the refund of monies from this account.  If you have received one of these emails please contact the real Insolvency Service on 0300 678 0015 or via their online contact form which can be found at General Enquiry (bis.gov.uk) as well as contacting Action Fraud as outlined below.  Further details can be found at Warning issued by the Insolvency Service on scams – GOV.UK.

An old scam is to confirm that Storefirst is in liquidation, which was not the case (but 4 Storefirst firms have recently entered liquidation), and then offer to facilitate a sale and / or valuation.  To do this they will ask for monies.  Do not pay any monies to them.  Scammers will use many different names but some of them are:

• Sutton Johnson Holdings;
• MG Finance Consulting;
• Marbler Gerhard;
• KB Financial Solutions;
• Karel Besta;
• London Commodity Traders;
• Boston Public Law Office;
• Stoneford Holdings;
• Caledonian Equity Group (this is not all the names they use but are examples).

Rowanmoor

It has come to our attention that a number of clients who held pensions with Rowanmoor have been contacted about the purchase of their shares in Rowanmoor Trustees Limited.  The company offering this is Segment Capital LLP.  This has been identified as a scam –clients did not own shares in Rowanmoor Trustees Limited.

Members have also have received unsolicited contact from companies purporting to represent Rowanmoor and / or their administrator (Evelyn Partners), requesting personal contact details and referring to the recovery of funds invested from Rowanmoor.  One of these is a company claiming to be The Chartered Trading Standards Institute. You should decline to speak to or communicate with anyone purporting to represent this firm.

Please be aware that no third party company alleging to represent Rowanmoor or it’s administrator will be in contact with you.

Action Fraud

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded, or experienced cyber-crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can report fraud or cyber-crime using their online reporting service at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Be Scam Vigilant!

Scams are more prevalent than ever with greater reliance on the use of emails, texts and social media which has led to life changing consequences for pension savers suffering significant losses, where scammers pretend to be a regulator or a financial service or have simply stolen your credentials. Plus of course the traditional ‘too good to be true’ scams where even ‘trusted’ financial advisors are offering unrealistic returns, poorly aligned opportunities and outcomes, or avoiding/evading tax; where investments are lost for good, and you may have a large tax bill on top. Please see this FCA campaign called ScamSmart – https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart and our website on current threats and what to look out for.