Almost 100 warnings have been issued by the country’s top bank against illegal and cloned investment services so far this year.
The Central Bank of Ireland has so far issued 99 warnings 11 this month, seven last month, five in August, 10 in July and 11 in June.
May saw 13 issued, while a whopping 23 warnings were made in April, 10 in March, three in February and six in January.
The Central Bank issued the latest warning against the cloned unauthorised and fraudulent firm of JP Morgan Ireland.
It has come to the attention of the top bank that a fraudulent entity, J P Morgan Private Bank, has been operating as an investment firm / investment business firm in the State in the “absence of appropriate authorisation.”
“In this instance,” the watchdog added that the fraudulent entity cloned a “legitimate Central Bank authorised firm in order to deceive customers.”
Six of the 11 warnings issued this month involve cloned investment and financial services.
The fraudulent entity contacted members of the public via email seeking to “lure consumers into investing in a fake investment" using the prospectus titled JP Morgan Private Bank Fixed Rate Bonds - Prospectus 2023. The contact details for this unauthorised entity include the email addresses info@jppim.com and compliance@jppim.com.
Another warning involved what the regulator called an “advanced fee fraud” operating as BMK Loans, a fraudulent firm using the website bmkloans.com.
The firm has been operating as a Retail Credit Firm in the State in the absence of an appropriate authorisation. BMK Loans advertises loans on its website but it holds no authorisation from the Central Bank as a Retail Credit Firm. The loans are never provided.
It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised firm to provide financial services in Ireland that would require an authorisation under the relevant legislation for which the Central Bank is the responsible body for enforcing.
Consumers should be aware, the Central Bank added, that if they deal with a firm that is not authorised, they are not eligible for compensation from any available compensation schemes.
“Fraudsters are increasingly using legitimate firms’ details to add an air of legitimacy to their fraud. The fraudsters will 'borrow' some or all of the legitimate information of an authorised / legitimate firm for the purpose of this fraud,” the Central Bank noted.
“They may quote authorisation numbers / company registration numbers and links to seemingly legitimate websites and even provide the real address of an authorised / legitimate firm.”
Consumers are advised to check the Central Bank’s website and register to verify a firm’s details and to call the firm back directly using its advertised phone number.
One of the most high profile warnings in recent years involved a company allegedly used by former international hockey player Catriona Carey to scam dozens of people with distressed property loans out of money was described as an “unauthorised firm” by the Central Bank, which advised people not to deal with it.
Gardaí are currently investigating the payments and the manner in which they were secured after receiving a number of complaints. Careysfort Asset Estates is registered in England though Ms Carey is based in Kilkenny.
The investigation is being conducted by Carlow and Kilkenny divisional detectives. They are also investigating if Ms Carey was providing financial services without having the proper licences from the Central Bank in place.
“The Central Bank believes that Careysfort Asset Estates Limited is holding itself out as a person whose business consists wholly or partly of providing credit directly to a relevant person but it holds no authorisation from the Central Bank as a retail credit firm,” the regulator noted.
Ms Carey who is the sole director of the company which has a registered address is 22 Wenlock Road, London, England N1 7GU.
