LONDON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Reported losses caused by scammers to investors exceeded 197 million British pounds (255.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2018, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Wednesday.
Figures showed that investors were scammed out of over 29,000 British pounds on average last year, and the FCA warned them to be vigilant.
In 2018, the FCA's call center received 5,884 investment scams reports, with 4,996 of these involving investments in shares and bonds, forex and cryptocurrencies by firms that are not authorized by the FCA.
Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at FCA, said that "Investment scams are becoming more and more sophisticated and fraudsters are using fake credentials to make themselves look legitimate."
"Always check the FCA's register to make sure you're dealing with an authorized firm and use the contact details on our register, not the details the firm gives you, to avoid 'clones'," he said.
Pauline Smith, director of Action Fraud, said that "These statistics show that investment fraud is a major threat, with fraudsters doing everything they can to manipulate potential victims into making investments."
"If you think you have been a victim of investment fraud, report it to Action Fraud," Smith said.
