The good news is that this week I have successfully helped another victim of the “Credit Suisse” bond scam get their money back. An elderly pensioner who’d invested £25,000 had no idea anything was untoward until she read my column on the subject last week. Even then, she said she was worried about wasting my time. She was still hanging on to the belief that she’d invested in “the real thing”.
She applied for the fake bond in April via what she thought was Credit Suisse’s own website. In reality it must have been a clone. Then, just like last week’s correspondent, she spoke to a man purporting to be a Credit Suisse employee called James Curry (name has been changed). He convinced her to visit a local Santander branch and deposit £25,000.
Following my involvement, Santander has reimbursed the reader for the full amount. She is relieved to be reunited with their money. I understand it had been put aside to pay for new hips for her husband, who is nearly 90.
This couple were among a sea of victims I have heard from in recent weeks. While I am continuing to assist affected individuals, I will now share some advice which I hope will help readers spot when companies or investments aren’t real, before it is too late.
Do share this with family members, friends and neighbours, as it might just be enough to stop them going through the same living hell as the correspondents whose letters have appeared on these pages:
- Legitimate organisations will never phone or email you out of the blue regarding investments.
- If an investment looks even a little bit too good to be true, then it probably is.
- Legitimate organisations will never rush you into payments or impose time limits.
- If you are told the investment opportunity is exclusive to you, run a mile.
- Be careful with comparison sites that appear as paid-for adverts on internet searches. They may be fake.