Warning scam cloned site: Fidelity International

 Scam Alert

 

Yesterday I received the email below from someone (JR) who had been emailed by 'Linda Parker' (almost certainly not her real name), an 'administrator' in the supposed 'Financial Investigations Unit, FILS Administration & Investigations' of 'Fidelity International'.

'May or may not interest you

This is an email I received - I called them and they say they are the financial investigation arm of Fidelity International investigating losses by their clients into fraudulent wine transactions. I do hold wine and they were able to cite details of some transactions I did contemplate 8 or 9 years ago. I was fairly guarded with them but they did come across as slightly unprofessional and potentially fraudulent. They did enquire about how I might intend to sell my holdings which raised alarm bells. When I look at the domain name they are using www.filsadministration.com, it is newly registered (7 October) through Wix which doesn’t seem something a multinational like Fidelity would do.

I suspect these guys have got hold of some data relating to genuine wine investors/portfolios and are now contacting those investors with scare stories and then are offering to market/buy their wine.  There is a chance I am wrong and this is genuine but seems unlikely to me.

Good website by the way.

Regards'

Email from Linda Parker: 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Linda Parkinson <admin@filsadministration.com>

Subject: URGENT RESPONSE REQUIRED

Date: 21 October 2020 at **:**:04 BST

To:  

                                       PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

                        Do not circulate information contained in this email.

                   This email contains information Solely for the named persons and no other.

Dear  

Ref:  CW-341-POL

We are currently upholding a financial investigation of a highly sensitive nature, we are not investigating yourself but we hold information that we would like to discuss with you at your earliest convenience.

Due to the nature of our enquiries we do apologize for being quite limited in this email.

Yours Sincerely

Linda Parker.

Administrator.

 

Phone: +44 203 740 4635

Financial Investigations Unit.

FILS Administration & Investigations

 

JR was right to be suspicious. Linda Parker and the Financial Investigations Unit,
FILS Administration & Investigations is a scam – pretending to be part of Fidelity International. Checking on the phone number given by Linda Parker using the Who called me site shows that the number is rated as 'dangerous'. 

I suspect that this scam is a combination of advanced fee fraud and making JR's wine disappear through a putative wine deal that would rapidly go sour once any wine had been transferred to the fraudsters. 

As JR found out their website was only registered on 7th October 2020:  

 

 Following JR notifying WIX, the web hosting company, the site has disappeared: 

 

 

Fidelity appears to have been a target of scamsters for a while – not just wine but also cash ISAs offering an attractive rate of return. See warning from FCA in 2019:

 

Warning by FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) on 23rd July 2019.

 

Details of clone site 23.7.2019:

Back in July 2019 the scam contact was an 'Edward Harley'. 

Details of the real Fidelity Group (authorised by the FCA):  

 

Tips from Fidelity on avoiding scams. Their telephone numbers are: 017323-61144 or 0333-3003350.