Global Information Fraud Notice

WARNING: CRIMINALS FREQUENTLY MASQUERADE AS AUTHORISED INVESTMENT FIRMS TO DEFRAUD INVESTORS

We would like to draw your attention to attempted investment frauds which misuse the Newton name.

At first glance the website and social media accounts may appear to be legitimate. Please be alert to the risk of investment fraud.

Scammers may try the following:
  • Call you with investment offers. These calls can be intense, frequent and convincing.
  • Set up fake websites using plausible domain names and brands and content cloned from legitimate firms. These sites are used to add plausibility to the calls and lure other victims.
  • Send email which looks like it has come from the authorised firm

Investment opportunities offered by these frauds are invariably very attractive so please be aware of investments that offer high rates of return, especially if they are apparently not offered to the general public.

Beware of proposals to terminate existing investments like pension schemes or ISAs. Beware of offers based on obscure assets and markets, cryptocurrency or odd transactions. Do not send any money or provide identity details to any firm unless you are convinced it is the legitimate contact of a regulated authorised investment firm.

If you have provided any personal details or money to a fraudster, please submit a report to your local police authority. In the UK this is Action Fraud (0300 123 2040).

If you receive an unexpected communication supposedly from Newton, please exercise caution, do not share information or remit funds. Documentation, our brand, email domains, website, social media accounts and employee names can be digitally cloned by criminals seeking to obtain personal information and money from you through deception. These criminals are very determined and will do everything possible to convince you that they are legitimate. Only trust email domains, website, social media accounts, SMS / text messages or any other type of electronic or telephone contact if you have confirmed that it is legitimate contact from an authorised investment firm.

Do not provide identity details or send any money to any firm unless you have confirmed it is the legitimate contact of a regulated authorised investment firm. We have secure processes for transferring money to and from bank accounts which verify the identity of our clients and ourselves. We recommend that investors seek advice before making investment decisions.

We report attempted fraud to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) our UK investment regulator. They provide more information about “clone firms” and you can search their news service for recent clones. However, please be aware that current scams will not normally have reached the list yet.

You should also report any concerns that you might have to the appropriate investment regulator. Useful reporting links follow below:
  • In the UK the Financial Conduct Authority asks that you should report contacts from people or firms you suspect to be unauthorised. FCA scam report contact details are on their site: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam-us and there are links to the Financial Services Register and the FCA Warning List.
  • In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission solicits tips, complaints and referrals at https://www.sec.gov/tcr

If you are aware of potentially fraudulent activity where you believe someone may be masquerading as Newton, any information that you can provide us with may be useful to us. These details support our own investigations and reporting to our regulator and may provide evidence that will assist us in arranging for fake websites, email domains and social media accounts to be shut down. Please email newton.rc.advisory.team@bny.com attaching any suspicious email(s) you have received. Unfortunately, we will not be able to share the results of any investigation with you.

If you are an institutional client, please contact your Newton relationship manager. If you are a retail investor please contact BNY Investor Services: clientservices@bny.com or call the team on +44 800 614 330.