Security alerts
Customers of financial institutions can be prone to attempts by fraudsters to obtain personal information. This information can then be used to gain access to an individual’s financial accounts. There are many ways in which you could be contacted such as email, post, social media or cold calls, but the methods used are constantly evolving so it is important that you are aware of the types of fraud people are becoming victim to.
Protect yourself
Be aware
It is important to be aware that a fraudster could contact you, falsely portraying themselves as an employee of a financial institution. They do this in an attempt to extract personal information in order to access your accounts. They have been known to use telephone, email, and even fax.
Fraudsters are constantly looking for new and improved ways to scam a potential victim. They will often claim to be in receipt of a sum of money owed to ‘you’ the client. They will then claim to release this money once you have paid a smaller sum to a pre-determined bank account, or potentially request you to answer a number of security questions. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suggests that “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”*
The National Crime Agency’s (NCA) tells individuals to Stop, Challenge and Protect:
- Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
- Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- Protect: Contact your investment manager immediately if you think you’ve been defrauded and report it to Action Fraud. Speak to your bank as soon as possible if you believe you have transferred money to a criminal.
Things to look for
- Being contacted about an investment opportunity that seems out of the ordinary. This could be through cold-calling, or via an email/letter that appears to be from Jupiter but is in fact a falsified document.
- In the case of a fraud, the third party may look to apply pressure in an attempt to make you ‘the client’ feel as though there is no other option but to continue. Be suspicious of bullish behaviour and also the offering of any ‘bonus’ payments for releasing information or making payments.
- Be wary of any offers that seem too good to be true. If you are being offered high returns, in short time frames, with 100% guarantees on investment, this should raise concerns that the offer may not be genuine.
- Fraudsters often ask for money to be sent electronically to a bank account. This is often not in the name of the company they claim to work for but instead a third party. Jupiter would not ask you to send us money electronically to a bank account.
- If you can’t find any contact details on the FCA Register or if the firm claims that the details are out of date, check by calling the consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768.
* Source: Financial Conduct Authority/ https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/how-avoid-investment-pension-scams
Creating secure passwords to protect accounts can help to protect an individual’s personal data from fraudsters. Ideally, to provide a higher level of protection an individual would have different passwords for different accounts and would refrain from writing these down where they could be accessed easily to gain access to their personal information by another individual.
It is important that an individual keeps their security details safe and to be wary when giving out details over the phone or in response to a letter. If any details are compromised then it is imperative to inform your bank and Jupiter so that we are aware of the situation moving forward.
Common frauds
There are various types of fraud where members of the public are contacted by people claiming to work for Investment Companies like Jupiter. Below are some of the most common:
Boiler room fraud involves the mis-selling of worthless or bogus stocks and shares for the sole purpose of defrauding cash from unwitting investors. Organised criminals run ‘boiler rooms’ with a sales pitch designed to play to an innocent investor’s desire to make a profit. You can read more about this on the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) website by clicking here.
Fraud involving Carbon Credits are very similar to boiler room fraud but instead of trying to sell you stocks and shares they try and convince you to invest in carbon credit or emission reduction schemes. These are highly complex products and in the UK the FCA has published information specifically on this due to the increasing number of frauds involving them. To read the FCA’s guidance on Carbon Credits please click here.
Bogus funds can be set up that share the same or a similar name to genuine funds provided by legitimate companies. Individuals who invest this way following a cold call are not investing in legitimate funds and are likely being defrauded by criminals.
This is where fraudsters will use a genuine investment company’s name and regulator registration number but their own contact information. This means the fraudulent company will appear genuine when you verify them on a regulator’s website. If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of a company please use the contact information provided on the regulator’s register. In the UK please click here for the FCA’s register of authorised firms.
Jupiter has been notified that members of the public are being contacted by fraudsters claiming to work for price comparison websites selling investment products. These platforms are often fake and the fraudsters are cloning the brands and documentation of legitimate investment management companies. The fraudsters are targeting members of the public through sponsored Google and Facebook links and are collecting personal details from illegitimate call centres.
Jupiter does not use cold calling to contact members of the public and does not use Facebook to promote its business.
If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the correspondence you have received, please contact Jupiter directly using the details provided on this webpage.
Fraudulent companies have also been contacting members of the public offering to transfer investments into legitimate funds. Individuals who invest following a cold call from such fraudulent companies are likely to be victims of an investment fraud.
Postal interception is more than just an inconvenience, it is another way members of the public can become victims of fraudsters. It can seriously jeopardise the security around a person’s bank accounts and investments. When criminals intercept post they can use it to obtain confidential information and use this to steal a victim’s identity, take over accounts and potentially steal or transfer funds away from victims.
The UK financial services industry has seen a growing number of non-UK residents becoming the target of postal interception. We have found South African residents are disproportionately affected by this although other countries’ nationals are also vulnerable.
Jupiter has developed and implemented a number of systems and controls to combat fraud and safeguard the interests of customers but it is important customers are also alert to this problem. If any customer is worried about this topic please do not hesitate to contact us.
Members of the public may be likely to receive emails from what seems like a legitimate source and email address. These emails may be a form of malware that attempts to install malicious software onto the recipient’s computer. If you receive this type of email please delete it and immediately run a virus check on your computer. We also advise that if you receive this type of email you report the sender to your ISP and also to Action Fraud, which is the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.
Individuals are creating fake social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn using genuine company employee names. Customers are then receiving unsolicited contact from unknown individuals using these employee names and making reference to these fake social media accounts in an attempt to make the contact seem genuine. These fake social media accounts are merely intended to confuse and defraud customers. If you come across social media accounts like this and are unsure about authenticity please contact the relevant company directly.
Fraudsters have been issuing letters to overseas customers asking them to complete a W-8BEN form and fax or sending it over to a fake number or address.
The Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding) is a legitimate U.S. tax exemption document and while some firms do sometimes issue these forms to customers for genuine reasons, these particular W-8BEN forms are not authentic.
The intention of the fraudsters is to acquire your personal details, such as mother’s maiden name, passport number, account details, PIN numbers, passcodes and debit card security numbers in order to commit fraud. The legitimate IRS Form W-8BEN does not ask for any of this information.
A genuine Form W-8BEN can be found here.
The fraudsters use various angles to get you to complete the fake form and may claim that, for example:
- Anti-money laundering regulations require a review of your client information and ask you to complete the form.
- You are exempt from tax reporting and withholdings on income including interest paid to you, therefore, to protect your exemption from tax please complete the attached form.
Therefore, if you receive a W8-BEN form by unsolicited email, fax or post, please do not reply to it and contact the relevant firm that it has supposedly been sent from immediately to enquire about its authenticity.
Legitimate companies can be subject to having their brand and name used in recruitment scams. Individuals are being contacted via email, by a person alleging to be a member of a company’s HR team, regarding career opportunities at the relevant company. These operate using a number of stages:
- You receive an email inviting you for an interview (online using Google Hangout or via text).
- You are requested to provide personal details.
- You are given an employment offer/letter.
- You are asked to perform initial online training.
- You are asked to purchase equipment using funds that they send to you via cheque/transfer.
Please be advised that these emails or job opportunities may not be genuine and if concerned with the authenticity of the opportunity then it is best to contact the relevant company.
You can read more about recruitment scams on the Action Fraud website.
Jupiter and Merian alerts
Below is a list of scams and fraudulent third parties which are known to have targeted Jupiter and Merian. The inclusion of Merian Global Investors Ltd comes after Jupiter’s acquisition of the firm in July 2020.
To add legitimacy, the fraudsters are claiming that JAMBIN, JAMBI Global Investment Education Pvt Ltd and Jupiter Asset School are affiliated with the Jupiter Group and have cloned Jupiter’s legitimate brand and website in order to facilitate the scheme. We have also been made aware of numerous articles that relate to the companies listed above which reference Jupiter Asset Management. These articles are not genuine, and we believe that these are part of the scam.
The cloned websites show an application that can be downloaded in order to assist users by providing them with the latest information on market trends. The application also allows users to create personalised watchlists to track product trends to assist with their investment decisions. In addition to cloning websites and to add legitimacy, the fraudsters have also created online platforms where members of the public can log in and make investments. Individuals are often asked to complete an application form to make the investment and this form includes the legitimate Jupiter brand logo. This is not a service that is provided by the legitimate Jupiter Group. In some instances, the contact us page on the fraudulent websites, take users to the legitimate Jupiter ‘contact us’ page.
If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the documents you have received or believe you have been contacted by these fraudulent individuals, please contact Jupiter directly using the details provided on this webpage.
We have been made aware of a recently launched cryptocurrency token called ‘Jupiter’ which is a decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator running on the Solana blockchain . The ‘Jupiter’ exchange offers users a platform to conduct decentralised financial transactions (DEFI) by connecting them with multiple decentralised exchanges they have partnered with. This exchange aims to offer users a one-stop destination that lets users get the “best price” and liquidity for their token swaps, limit orders and wider trading activities.
Its native token is called JUP and was launched in January 2024. As a governance token, JUP allows its community members to vote, approve, and sanction changes and initiatives on their exchange platform.
Whilst this is a bona fide decentralised exchange aggregator on the Solana blockchain and the JUP token is legitimate and available to buy, we would like to express that this decentralised exchange, nor the JUP token, are in no way affiliated to the Jupiter Group.
The Jupiter Group’s nature of business is asset management, and we do not currently invest in cryptocurrencies or engage with any centralised or decentralised cryptocurrency exchanges or platforms, nor do we offer any cryptocurrency tokens.
If you have received any correspondence in relation to this exchange and token and are unsure of the legitimacy of such correspondence, please contact us directly using the details provided on this webpage.
Jupiter has been made aware of fraudsters claiming to work for a company called Jupiter Limited and have been contacting members of the public regarding investments in cryptocurrency. These fraudsters have claimed that Jupiter Limited is a Consulting Agency which can assist with the recovery of digital assets (e.g. cryptocurrency) that were transferred to a cryptocurrency platform (e.g. Paybit). As part of the recovery of digital assets, Jupiter Limited has also stated that it can convert these assets to local currency, charging a conversion fee to do so. Once this fee is paid, these fraudsters are uncontactable.
To add legitimacy to this scheme, fraudsters are sending members of the public Recovery Agreements, asking for these to be signed and returned in order to start the recovery process. In addition, Jupiter Limited is also claiming to be affiliated with Jupiter Asset Management Limited and is using legitimate details such as the Companies House number and UK registered office address to add legitimacy. Jupiter Asset Management Limited does not engage in business with cryptocurrency providers or platforms and is not affiliated with Jupiter Limited. The website used by the fraudsters is www.jupiterlimited.co.uk.
The main methods of communication used by the fraudsters are WhatsApp and email, however, the legitimate Jupiter Asset Management does not cold call the public and does not communicate using WhatsApp.
A ’cloned firm’ alert has been added onto the Jupiter Asset Management Limited (FRN 141274) FCA page by the FCA. Jupiter Asset Management Limited (fca.org.uk)
If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the documents you have received or believe you have been contacted by these fraudulent individuals, please contact Jupiter directly using the details provided on this webpage.
RIGHTS AND ISSUES INVESTMENT TRUST PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Limited (122488) is the investment manager and AIFM for the Rights And Issues Investment Trust PLC and we have been made aware of a scam website (https://rightsandissuestrustplc.com).
The website has been set up claiming to be associated with the genuine Rights and Issues Investment Trust PLC. To add legitimacy to this scam, the website displays the correct Companies House reference number (00736898) and the correct registered office address (Hamilton Centre Rodney Way, Chelmsford, CM1 1BY) for the Rights and Issues Investment Trust PLC . However, the telephone number and contact email details on the scam website are incorrect. The legitimate webpage for the Rights and Issues Investment Trust PLC is www.jupiteram.com/uk/en/individual/rights-and-issues-investment-trust-plc/.
If you believe you have been contacted by individuals affiliated with this website, please contact Jupiter directly using the details provided on this webpage.
If you believe you have been contacted by individuals affiliated with To Ark, please contact Jupiter directly using the details provided on this page.