The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking consumers to be extra vigilant of fraudsters impersonating the regulator, after it revealed it had received almost 5,000 fake FCA scam reports in the first half of 2025.
Scammers steal money by persuading people to hand over funds or personal information, such as bank account PINs and passwords.
There have been 4,465 reports of fake FCA scams to the regulator’s consumer helpline so far this year, with 480 victims tricked into sending money to the fraudster.
Almost two-thirds of reports came from people 56 years old or above.
One common scam method is fraudsters claiming that the FCA has recovered funds from a crypto wallet that was opened illegally in the individual’s name.
Another is to target loan scam victims and claim the FCA can help them recover the money they have lost. The individual is then persuaded to hand over further funds.
In other instances, consumers receive and email informing them their creditors have taken out a County Court Judgement against them and they must pay the FCA the amount owed.
Commenting on the increasing prevalence of financial scams AJ Bell senior pensions and savings expert Charlene Young said: “This new warning from the FCA makes for grim reading, as financial scammers are now impersonating the regulator itself. The figures represent the total number of reports to the FCA where people realise they’ve been targeted and are willing to make a report. However, the true volume of victims and attempts will likely be much higher.
She pointed out that the most vulnerable people continue to be those who are most actively targeted. “We saw financial vulnerability particularly exposed by fraudsters during the worst of the Covid pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis that followed it.
“While people of all ages can fall victim to scammers, those who are able to access their retirement pot – potentially the biggest asset they own – will inevitably be a prime target,” Young said.
