Financial fraud

To discover you have been targeted by a fraudulent company or had an account drained of funds is devastating. We can offer practical advice on how to get your personal or business finances back on track and put you back in control of your money.

If you are contacted with an unusual request or a too-good-to-be-true investment opportunity, always consider what you are being asked to do and how you are being asked to do it. If the request or offer has a ‘deadline,’ you should be suspicious. Never reveal your password, or any payment or credit card details over the phone, click on a link or enter personal details. You can speak to us at any time.

If you are reading this because you feel you may be targeted or have received a suspicious email or LinkedIn connection request from an unknown party claiming to be a representative of St. James's Place, you should inform us and check the official Financial Services register of regulated individuals and firms, published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If your apparent contact doesn’t appear on the register, they are almost certainly not legitimate.

Online security - guidance for clients

We take our responsibility to look after your money, information and privacy seriously. We therefore have security measures in place to help combat fraud and cybercrime. As individuals there are also some simple steps and guidance that we can all easily follow to improve our personal online security:

Security checklist:

Password protect devices and online accounts.

Where possible, passwords should be at least eight characters long, should include different types of characters, and should not be a proper word, name or place. Consider using phrases, a number of unconnected words or letters from something memorable to you but difficult to guess, such as a poem or song lyrics. Change your passwords regularly where possible, using different passwords for different accounts. Do not let anyone else know your password.

Beware of email and telephone scams.

Unexpected emails may be malicious; containing viruses, malware or other tools criminals use to gain access to your information. Do not reply to an email asking for sensitive information, open an unexpected attachment or enter information into a website that you are directed to by a hyperlink. Instead, use a search engine to direct you to the organisation’s login page. Do not give sensitive information such as plan numbers to a caller if you are unsure of who they are.

Keep your operating system, firewall and antivirus up to date.

Cybercrime is a fast moving industry. By keeping your systems up to date, they will be more resilient to new cyber-attacks. Also run regular virus scans of your computers and devices.

Be careful when using unsecure wireless connections.

If you are unsure whether the connection is secure do not enter sensitive information into the device. If you are in a public place such as a café or hotel the wireless connection is less likely to be secure.

Be aware of the risks associated with social media.

Social Media is a good way to store and share personal information. Cyber criminals will also use social media to look for your date of birth, place of birth or middle name, for example, which they can use to take over your accounts or commit identity theft. Use the privacy settings on websites and be careful about what you make publically available. Be aware of what your friends and family post about you.

Our interactions with you:

St. James's Place will:

Provide a secure website to login to Online Services (this can be checked by looking for the padlock icon next to the address bar)

Only send withdrawal funds to a verified bank account in your name.

Verify who you are when speaking to you on the phone, by asking you security questions

St. James's Place will not:

Ask you for your password over the phone.

Send you an unsolicited email with a hyperlink to our login page asking you to enter your Online Wealth Account credentials.

Ask you for payment or credit card details.

Call you to notify you of a problem, and then request you call us back immediately to discuss the problem further.

If you would like further information about online security and fraud, please visit www.getsafeonline.org, www.actionfraud.police.uk and www.ncsc.gov.uk

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