Warning: 78 million lost to fake investments

Last year UK consumers lost more than 78 million GBP to fake investments. These scams are highly convincing, so consider the following before investing:

• Is someone you don't know offering you an unexpected investment opportunity? Always use the FCA Register to check the firm is authorised to provide investments and to verify their contact details. If they're not on there, it's probably a scam.
• Watch out for fake social media posts - some even use fake celebrity endorsements - and websites at the top of search engine results. Just because they appear there doesn't mean they're genuine.
• Before investing, always seek reputable, independent financial advice from someone regulated to provide it. Never take advice from the company that contacted you.

Following the above tips could be the difference between making a safe investment and losing your life savings to a scam.

For more information about investment scams click here.