The FCA has issued a public warning against Shawbrook Bank fraudsters, after an attempt to imitate the challenger bank using a similar name.
< 
div>The FCA has issued a public warning against Shawbrook Bank fraudsters, after an attempt to imitate the challenger bank using a similar name.
The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a public warning over an organisation identifying itself as Shawz Online Brook, registered to an address in London’s Haymarket.
The clone bank has made an almost exact replica of Shawbrook’s website, including the use of the iconic pink lion logo.
Almost immediately, Shawbrook has been quick to disassociate itself with the clone, stating publically that it has no association whatsoever with Shawz Online Brook.
More specifically, Shawz Online Brook is not regulated by the FCA, and has no right to accept deposits or alternative investment.
Should any customer deal with an unauthorised firm such as Shawz, and the many others that pop up on similar firms, they would have no right to take up their case with neither the Financial Ombudsman Service nor the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Interestingly, the registered address: 16 Waterloo Place, London Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4AR, is that of the Confederation of Spanish Savings Bank, located just off the Mall.
In a warning published on the website, The FCA said: “[Shawz Online Brook] is not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on a regulated activity in the UK. Regulated activities include, amongst other things, accepting deposits by way of business. We believe that the organisation may be targeting UK customers.”
Fraudsters have also attempted to replicate a number of other industry firms in the past, most recently; a FCA warning was put out against a clone of Aldermore Bank, with similar cautions to prospective customers.
Speaking on the warnings, Ian Henderson, CEO of Shawbrook Bank, said: “Shawbrook immediately alerted the FCA and is taking steps to mitigate the risks to potential customers that are being targeted by these websites. Shawbrook takes the issue of security very seriously”.
Leave a comment