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Fraudsters target Paragon Bank in latest clone attack

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  • 09/12/2019
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Fraudsters target Paragon Bank in latest clone attack
Paragon is the latest specialist lender to be targeted by fraudsters who clone real websites and use similar contact details to trick consumers into parting with their cash.

 

The bank spotted a clone of its website in early October and contacted the domain provider to have the site taken down. It is not aware of any consumers who suffered financial loss.

The fraudsters planned to convince savers, who thought they were dealing with Paragon, to send money to them instead.

They used the email ‘onlinesavings.paragon@auto-response.org’ and several 0800 telephone numbers. The real email address is savings@online.paragonbank.co.uk and Paragon’s contact numbers are 0345 8494003 and 0121 712 6749.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning to alert the public that fraudsters are using a mixture of genuine and fake details to attempt to scam households.

A spokesperson for Paragon said: “We continuously monitor for cloned website activity and immediately take action when we identify fraudulent sites.

“Protecting our customers is of paramount importance to us and we urge vigilance against unsolicited emails or calls directing people towards websites. We always advise consumers to visit paragonbank.co.uk or to call the numbers listed on the website to ensure they are genuinely dealing with us.”

 

Growing threat

Analysis by the Mail on Sunday revealed that in June there 56 FCA warnings about clone fraud, a 65 per cent year-on-year rise. Furthermore, the number of warnings was four times higher than in June 2017.

Last month, Shawbrook Bank and Castle Trust were both targeted by fraudsters running similar scams.

Shawbrook was alerted to the scam by a member of the public who had transferred money to the company after receiving an email. They were not an existing customer of Shawbrook. The bank notified the FCA.
A fake company used a phishing scam to target individuals by sending false adverts and promises of fixed rate returns on Shawbrook bonds to their email addresses.

Castle Trust, which is waiting for its banking licence to be granted, identified a clone website called Castle Trust Private Bank through routine checks. The scammers were thought to be based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Scammers also targeted Aldermore Bank in August by setting up a website called www.aldermoreibank.com.

 

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