Well done! You spotted this firm is a clone (and it’s not the only one)
P.L. writes: I received a phone call to say I was owed money for my dealings 15 to 20 years ago with failed broker Square Mile Securities. I declined as the compensation fund had already settled with me. Five minutes later I was called again to be told I was definitely owed money and the next day this was confirmed in writing. But I think it is a scam.
WELL spotted. It is a scam. The letter you received looks as though it came from Capricorn Finance – with an address in Piccadilly, Central London, a proper company registration number, and authorisation from regulator the Financial Conduct Authority.
The letter is signed by director David Cunio and says you are owed £9,472, but you have to pay £1,894 in fees which will be refunded later, along with the £9,472 itself.
Anyone checking would find there really is a Capricorn, with an address in Piccadilly, and it does have the company number shown on the notepaper, and it is authorised by the regulator. One of its directors is David Cunio.
But look closely and you spot the phone number on the notepaper is 0203 290 7465 – this is not the number of the real Capricorn.
The genuine company has been ‘cloned’ by fraudsters who have even set up a fake website at capricornfinance.com, but with their own phone number. This number is already in my files. It was used a few months ago when fraudsters cloned another company, Satis Asset management, in a similar type of scam.
If you had fallen for the fake Capricorn letter, you would have been told to send your payment by bank transfer to account number 13 29 28 60 at sort code 09-01-28.
This is a Santander account, so I tipped off the bank. Officials there thanked The Mail on Sunday, saying: ‘We are always grateful to receive information about suspected fraudulent accounts. We will act swiftly to investigate and block accounts where appropriate.’
Meanwhile, at the genuine Capricorn, director Stuart Dixon told me: ‘We have had several calls from the public. We have notified the regulator and sent them a series of documents.
‘I am hoping the Financial Conduct Authority will shut down these guys. They are not connected with us in any way at all.’
Neither the regulator nor the fake Capricorn responded to invitations to comment.