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In Britain, the National Crime Agency and Financial Conduct Authority are warning that the number of clone firm scams has significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a six-month period, these fraudulent schemes have led to more than 78 million pounds ($107 million) in losses for victims.
A clone firm is a fake entity created by fraudsters that uses the name, address and Firm Reference Number - a unique identifier assigned to every financial or investment firm in the U.K and issued by the Financial Conduct Authority - of a legitimate organization, according to the alert. In some cases, the scammers will clone or spoof the entire website of a legitimate firm.