The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has received almost 5,000 scam reports of people impersonating the regulator in the first half of 2025.

Scammers are aiming to steal money by getting people to hand over funds or sensitive information, such as bank account PINs and passwords.

Figures showed there were 4,465 reports of fake FCA scams to the regulator’s consumer helpline in H1, with 480 victims duped into sending money to the fraudster. Around two thirds of the reports to the regulator came from people aged 56 years old or over.

One of the most common scam methods being reported is where fraudsters are claiming that the FCA has recovered funds from a crypto wallet that was opened illegally in the individual’s name.

Another common method is to target loan scam victims, who are often categorised as vulnerable, and claim the FCA can help them recover the money they have lost. They are then persuaded to hand over further funds.

Joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, Steve Smart, said: “Fraudsters are ruthless. They attempt to steal money from innocent victims by impersonating the FCA. We will never ask you to transfer money to us or for sensitive banking information such as account PINs and passwords. If in doubt, always check.”

The FCA has also observed another trend which it described as “pig butchering”, where scammers “fatten up” victims by building a connection, often a romantic one, and then carrying out a long-term investment scam.

After the victim has lost money, scammers then attempt to defraud victims a second time by pretending to be the FCA under the guise of helping to recover the money.

“This new warning from the FCA makes for grim reading, with financial scammers now impersonating the regulator itself,” senior pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, Charlene Young, commented.

“The figures represent the total number of reports to the FCA where people realise they’ve been targeted and are willing to make a report. However, the true volume of victims and attempts will likely be much higher.

“Depressingly, the most vulnerable people continue to be those who are most actively targeted.”

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