THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY

The FSA has a webpage on scams and swindles.

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http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/About/What/Supporting/scamms/index.shtml

We are aware of a several bogus communications – claiming to be from various employees of the FSA – which ask the recipient for personal information and/or money.

These communications are often in the form of emails or letters and they sometimes use the name of a current or former FSA employee. They are likely to be linked to organised fraud and we strongly advise that you do not respond to them in any way.

Here are some recent examples:

* Bogus letter from John Tiner
* Email 1
* Email 2
* Letter 1
* Letter 2

For details of many other types of fraud visit our scams and swindles page of information for consumers.

Should you have any doubt about the authenticity of an ‘FSA communication’, please contact the relevant telephone number below:

Authorised firms
From UK: 0845 606 9966 (call rates may vary)

Consumers
From UK: 0845 606 1234 (call rates may vary)

Overseas callers
+44 20 7066 1000

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Wot? No mention of the British Banking system?

Oh, yeah. The FSA is financed by the British Banking system.

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http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/About/Who/index.shtml

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. We are a company limited by guarantee and financed by the financial services industry. The Treasury appoints the FSA Board, which currently consists of a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, three Managing Directors, and 9 non-executive directors (including a lead non-executive member, the Deputy Chairman). This Board sets our overall policy, but day-to-day decisions and management of the staff are the responsibility of the Executive.

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Apparently, one of the statutory objectives of the FSA is;

public awareness: promoting public understanding of the financial system

A big, red F for that one.