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financialadviserhertfordshire is aware of a number of fraudulant share promotions on unsuspecting members of the general public. We have been contacted by a number of individuals who have been illegally conned into buying shares in North American companies through offshore stock brokers. In several cases many thousands of pounds were lost. Recently a member of our staff was telephoned by such an operation and was able to string the fraudster along and gain an insight into the operation. For legal reasons we are unable to give any names but by telling the story we hope to better educate the public about the dangers of such scams. Our staff member (John) was phoned at work by a very confident sounding man who asked about his knowledge of "the substantial profits being made on North American shares". The conversation was upbeat and friendly but lead John to take an interest in what was being proposed. Very soon the John found he was being asked to agree to "take some shares" ...."just a small holding"......say £10,000 ( A huge sum to him but in the context of the conversation it seemed so much smaller). There seemed to be no opportunity to back out as he was pressed for full name and address details. John asked if the firm was regulated, the salesman reassured him, confidently stating that his firm was fully regulated by the New York Stock Exchange and the Department of Trade and Industry. The salesman quickly talked past any objections and started to close the sale "OK, so i;ll just put you down for £10,000 worth at this stage. No problem, you can always change your mind later on" Aty this point John, who felt under considerable pressure now stated clearly that he was not interested and hung up. From other victims of this operation we have learned that the next stage is for a contract note and a demand for money to arrive through the post. The deal is through an overseas broker where there is no regulation. There is no right to cancel. The shares have been bought. In some cases the shares are immediatly worthless. Such sales methods are completely illegal in the UK. To recommend the purchase of any shares, the company must be authorised by The Financial Services Authority. The problem is that the person who advised on and arranged the deal is impossible to find. All addresses are bogus, the telephone numbers often go dead after a week. The fraudster gets his money from commission paid by an overseas broker to an overseas bank account. Such operations are often referred to as Boiler Room Scams. If you receive such a call our advice is to terminate the call and immediately report the matter and all details to The Financial Services Authority on 0845 606 1234. If you receive any paperwork forward this to The Financial Services Authority at
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