The scammers used the fake firm name of ‘Coutts Wealth Management’ to clone the bank, rather than the official name ‘Coutts & Company’.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intervened, warning customers of Coutts, the exclusive bank and wealth manager founded in 1692, of a ‘clone of an FCA authorised firm,’ after fraudsters pretending to be the bank contacted customers using fake names, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

In a warning notice, entitled Coutts Wealth Management (clone of FCA authorised firm), the regulator stressed ‘this firm is not authorised by us but has been contacting people pretending to be an authorised firm. We call this a clone firm’.

The FCA said: ‘Almost all financial firms in the UK must be authorised or registered by us. Clone firms aren’t authorised or registered, but scammers may try and convince you that they are.’

Fra