The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) today issued a warning to London Capital & Finance bondholders saying that a new scam has been detected and that they may be targeted by it.

The administrators of LCF, Smith & Williamson, have been shown emails sent to LCF bondholders from info@londoncapitalfinanceuk.com that claim to be from a director of LCF but appear to be a scam.

These emails encourage the reader to call a phone number and ‘lodge a claim into the government scheme’, ‘lodge claims directly with our financial intermediary’, ‘claim your personal settlement’ or other similar phrases. They also threaten that a ‘failure to act’ will result in you ‘waiving your right’ to money or ‘receiving nothing’.

The phone number quoted in the emails can be found on a website which the FCA warns is unauthorised.

FSCS warns LCF bondholders to be extremely wary of any contact that is not directly from FSCS or LCF’s administrator. If you are unsure, always contact FSCS directly.

LCF bondholders do not need to do anything to receive compensation under the government scheme, and FSCS will be in touch with everyone by 20 April 2022.

FSCS has now been paying compensation to LCF bondholders who are eligible for the government’s scheme for several weeks.

In mid-December 2021, FSCS said it had contacted more than 7,750 people, issuing cheques for over 10,000 bonds totalling £91.1 million. This means that just over 84% of eligible bondholders have received compensation so far.