IFA firm Continuum has warned advisers to be alert after a client was targeted by scammers in a sophisticated attack.

Investment scams saw a sharp 34% increase in losses in the first recorded rise since 2021, according to the annual UK Finance Annual Fraud Report.

The fund managers’ trade body, the Investment Association (IA), has warned that brand cloning scams have become the “leading source” of fraud risk with hundreds of investors losing millions of pounds.

The Financial Conduct Authority has secured confiscation orders of £305,284 against a trio of convicted investment fraudsters.

The FCA, backed by City of London Police, has arrested four individuals over suspected fraud and money laundering offences.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has ceased criminal proceedings against a former director of a social enterprise company accused of pension fraud following his death.

The Financial Conduct Authority has charged Lisa Campbell of Campbell & Associates Independent Financial Advice Ltd (FRN 602550) with multiple fraud offences.

The number of investment scams fell 29% to 3,647 cases in the first half of 2024 (H2 2023: 5,114 cases), according to new data from professional body UK Finance.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has reported a record 8,734 fraud and scam cases in just a three-month period this year, the highest ever quarterly level.