warning! fraudulent emails claiming to be from the ombudsman ...
6 April 2006
Fraudulent emails that claim to come from the Financial Ombudsman Service are currently in circulation.
These spoof emails usually contain some images taken from our website – such as our logo and other illustrations. But clues that the emails are not genuine may include things such as:
- an overseas phone number
- an unlikely-looking email address (such as a hotmail account) or
- a foreign PO Box number overtyped onto spoof versions of our website.
If you get an email that says it’s from us but that seems a bit suspicious and you want to check it out – please call us on 0845 080 1800.
To help protect yourself generally from fraudulent emails – you should:
- never respond to a message that appears suspicious
- never provide personal details – such as your address, phone number etc unless you’re absolutely certain the request is genuine
- never provide any of your banking or credit card details unless you’re absolutely certain the request is genuine; and
- never give anyone your security information, such as your internet/telephone banking password or logon details. No genuine banking firm ever asks you to provide this information.
You should also:
- install anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date
- install personal firewall software.
media enquiries
- David Cresswell – phone 020 7964 0134
- Emma Parker – phone 020 7964 0966
- out of hours – phone 0771 8658 306
