A recent report has found that 1 in 8 wealthy Brits was the victim of financial crime in the second half of 2023.

The survey results, reported by Professional Adviser, confirmed that among 2,000 individuals with assets of more than £250,000, 41% had been a victim of financial crime. More than a third of incidents occurred within the six months to December 2023.

Worryingly, the higher the net worth of the respondent, the more likely they were to have been approached, and the more they were likely to have lost.

Keep reading for a closer look at the figures and for the red flags to look out for.

Fraudsters targeted wealthy individuals across a range of scam types

Scammers are forever adapting their tactics and looking for new ways to con unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned cash. The most common scam types affecting affluent individuals were:

• Online shopping scams (24%)
• Investment scams (20%)
• Pension scams (15%)

Romance scams (9%) were also found to be a huge problem, with 1 in 50 victims losing more than £50,000.

The research found that 33% of those with assets between £250,000 and £500,000 have been targeted. But his figure jumped for those with assets between £1 million and £2 million to almost half (48%).

And those with the largest wealth lost the most to scammers. Among high net worth individuals with assets exceeding £3 million, the average loss was £23,563. That’s seven times higher than the £3,477 average loss suffered by those with a net worth below £500,000.

A gender imbalance exists too. Women are more likely to admit to being the victim of a scam, but, on average, they will lose less.

Protecting yourself from scams requires vigilance and a knowledge of the common red flags

In all cases when dealing with financial matters, the prevalence of scammers means that it pays to be vigilant, step back for an objective view, and conduct your own thorough research.

Online scams

Tech-savvy scammers increasingly operate online and they could target you or your business. Education is key.

Phishing and smishing scams (via email and text messages, respectively) are designed to look genuine. The scammer might purport to be your GP, from HMRC, or a known financial services provider.

You should never reply or click on links. If you do, you could inadvertently download a virus and the clone sites you are taken to will likely look genuine. There are red flags, though, so be sure to complete your due diligence.

Check the official company website and look at the format of emails. Does the sender’s address match this format? Are there spelling and grammatical errors inconsistent with a firm of its size?

Be sure your employees know to complete these checks too so that they don’t fall for online CEO or invoice scams. These are messages requesting payment or purporting to be from a company CEO, asking for personal data or banking information.

Pension and investment scams

UK-based financial services companies will be authorised by the FCA so you can check the FCA register to ensure the company is listed. It will also tell you if the company is authorised to conduct the specific business they are offering to do for you.

Here are a few other red flags to look out for:

• Pension cold-calling is banned so unsolicited contact about your pension is highly likely to be a scam.
• No reputable company would ever hurry you into making a poor decision so time-sensitive offers and “once-in-a-lifetime” deals aren’t to be trusted.

• “Guarantees”, “loopholes” and offers to “liberate” your pension early will likely sound too good to be true. This means they probably are.

As professional financial advisers, we understand the markets and ever-changing legislation around tax and pensions. If you have any concerns about an approach you receive, be sure to get in touch.

Romance scams

While you can’t check the FCA register to look for a potential romance scam perpetrator, there are still steps you can take.

You might conduct a reverse image search to see if the photo attached to your contact is genuine. Research social media and try to fact-check claims that are made.

Scammers are clever. They might look to harvest your data surreptitiously or lure you away from dating sites to operate outside of the safety nets those sites provide.

Don’t ever send money to someone you have only met online and if you do arrange to meet in person, choose a heavily populated space. If you are talking to a criminal, they will be manipulative and could look to alienate you from your family or tug at your heartstrings to part you from your cash.

Remain vigilant, step back, and always acknowledge the possibility that the person you’re talking to is a fraud.

Falling victim to a scam can make us feel vulnerable or even ashamed but remember that this is exactly what the scammers want, in the hope that you won’t call out their crime.

Get in touch

With decades of experience, our Chartered Financial Planners can protect you and your money. If you have any questions, please get in touch and speak to us today.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.