Protecting yourself against fraud

Schroders has been subject to various instances of scams and attempted frauds executed by impersonating Schroder business and/or offering counterfeit investment products which are not sold or marketed by any of the Schroders Group, including Schroders Investment Management.

If you are concerned you are being sold a fraudulent product, please contact us before investing.

Latest fraud trends

There are many different types of fraud and ever evolving methods being used by fraudsters. Check this page frequently to keep up to date with the latest frauds trends:

Investment Fraud: Fraudsters have been using internet adverts to promote fake investments, leading to fraudulent comparison sites. These sites ask for personal details, which are then used by the fraudsters, posing as Schroders representatives, to cold call and email fake prospectuses and application forms, aiming to receive payment for these fraudulent investments.

Social Media Fraud Alert: Schroder’s active fraud monitoring has identified that fraudsters are reaching out to individuals via social media, personal emails, and private messages offering deceptive investments. If you've been contacted on social media about investment schemes allegedly associated with Schroders, please get in touch with us. Schroders is actively working with social media platforms, law enforcement, and regulators to stop these frauds.

Advanced Fee Fraud: Beware of scams where fraudsters pretend to be representatives from law firms, government departments, or claim to work at Schroders, offering unknown inheritance money or recovery services for a fee. Schroders does not engage in such practices and would never contact you in this manner. If you have been a victim of fraud or lost money on an investment, be cautious of any direct contact asking for upfront fees or transaction charges for recovery services, as it could be a fraudulent scam. Stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.

Fraud prevention

Please consider the following when identifying potentially fraudulent activities:

1. Have you received unsolicited contact about an investment opportunity via phone, email, or social media?

2. Have you seen adverts on your social media feeds offering unusually high returns on investment?

3. If you've spoken to someone, did you feel pressured to decide without time to consider the investment?

4. Have you been offered a high return on your investment with seemingly little or no risk?

5. Have you been told that the investment opportunity is exclusive to a small group, of which you are a part?

Fraudsters may use various tactics to appear legitimate, such as setting up cloned websites, redirecting you to the genuine Schroders.com website, or sending you a prospectus with Schroders branding and our office address. They may even make an initial payment to convince you to invest larger sums. Be aware of these signs and always verify the legitimacy of the investment.

Stop and review - before making any decisions to invest or provide personal information, take a moment to stop and think, especially if a call, letter, email, or text has come unexpectedly. Schroders would never rush you to make an investment decision.Question the offering - does the offer sound too good to be true? Are there gaps in the information you're being given? Does the contact information match up with what you find in the public domain? Always approach unsolicited contact containing urgent appeals for investment or personal information with caution. Confirm the validity of the source of the message, ensuring it comes from a trusted source by carefully examining the address itself, as well as the content within it.Protect yourself - If you think you've fallen for a scam, contact your bank and local police immediately. Also, contact Schroders, so that we can assist you and protect others from falling victim to the same scams.

If you believe you have encountered any suspicious incidents, please contact our Financial Crime Prevention Team on +44(0)20 7658 4004 or contact us via the reportscams@schroders.com email address.If you suspect you have been a victim of fraud, we advise you to report it immediately to your bank who may be able to assist you in stopping or recovering funds. You can report fraud and cybercrime if you live in the UK to Action Fraud.

How to verify a genuine email

Schroders will not directly contact you via email to market our products. If you are contacted by a Schroders employee, it will be only through a designated email domain name, such as:

@schroders.com

@cazenovecapital.com

@benchmarkcapital.co.uk

Or via the Schroders UK registrar: schrodersinvestor@HSBC.com

Be alert when interacting with Schroders email addresses look for slight misspellings, numbers, and suspicious characters.

If you are unsure, do not reply to the email. Instead, contact us immediately at reportscams@schroders.com

Fraud prevention resources

The third party sites listed below may help you. However, we are not responsible for the content or accuracy of these sites:

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/

https://www.fca.org.uk/

https://www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/

https://www.fraudadvisorypanel.org/

https://www.mpsonline.org.uk/

https://www.cifas.org.uk/pr

https://www.getsafeonline.org/

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/identity-theft/

https://www.which.co.uk/news/scams-fraud