TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

Be alert to scams and fraud

Fraud and scams are prevalent everywhere. In an ever-evolving world of technology, it makes it easier for criminals to target you from anywhere in the world.

Fraudsters spend time researching their victims and often have more information about them than we think. They take advantage of an individual’s instinctive willingness to trust and use this to build a rapport.

They can be charming, understanding, appear knowledgeable and persuasive. After all, if they are successful in deceiving someone, the time spent researching them and building that trust is worthwhile.

Scams are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and fraudsters will often use names of well-known companies, like BlackRock, to gain credibility and appear legitimate.

Tactics used by fraudsters include:

Phishing websites

Fake websites (e.g., fund comparison websites) to obtain personal information which is then used to make contact to offer an allegedly attractive investment opportunity.

Impersonation of BlackRock employees

Using genuine names of employees that match those on regulators’ websites or senior executives. This may also involve the use of deepfake artificial intelligence technology.

Use of social media channels to provide alleged training to achieve high returns

Fraudsters may use social media and messaging applications to target large audiences through group chats and make it appear as if individuals in the group are making high returns and that others that do not follow would be missing out.

Fake email addresses

Using fake email addresses through free webmail services or creating domains and email addresses that look similar to genuine companies.

Fake documentation

Fake documentation such as investment prospectuses, application forms and transactional information using company logos and pictures of senior management to look legitimate.

Time pressure

Pressurizing you with time-limited offers, investments or opportunities. For example: If you don’t invest by the end of the week, you’ll miss out.

Social engineering techniques

Using social engineering techniques (e.g., manipulation, influencing) to extract confidential or personal information.

Spoofing

When fraudsters make it look like a message, email or phone call is coming from a legitimate company by changing the sender name or number that you see.

It's important to be able to spot warning signs (or red flags) potentially indicating a scam.

What are the warning signs?

It’s important that you can spot potential warning signs or red flags that may indicate you are being scammed. Some examples of these are below*:

Payment requests for payments to the bank accounts of individuals, companies or third parties that have no apparent connection to BlackRock or through cryptocurrency or payment wallets. BlackRock would never request such payments.

Poor spelling and grammar in documents or communications.

Returns that appear too good to be true and out of line with the market.

Emails from free webmail services or domains created with subtle differences such as the addition or removal of letters, numbers or special characters (e.g., blackrockk.com with an extra k rather than blackrock.com). Please note that individual BlackRock employee emails end in @blackrock.com.

Variation in email domains used in communications within a short space of time (e.g., emails first sent from a fake domain such as @blackrockbonds.com and later from a different email address such as @blackrockbonds.co.uk).

Switching email domains in the midst of an email conversation can be an indicator that the old domain has been shut down and is no longer working.

Eagerly chasing or threatening you to make a decision or a payment with urgency. Encouraging you to invest for guaranteed returns.

New or additional payment requests in order to release investments that have already been made (purportedly for tax, administration or other purposes). BlackRock would never request such payments for you to access your accounts or investments.

Time-bound offers which pressure you into making a decision or payment quickly.

Please note this is not an exhaustive list.

If you have been contacted out of the blue and have any doubts, do not proceed. If you feel pressurized, talk to someone you trust before you make any payments.

Types of scams and fraud

Fraudsters can target you through many channels such as phone calls, text messages, social media, emails or even the post.

The fraudsters try to convince you to invest in something that either does not exist or is worthless. They may contact you out of the blue or after you have searched for a specific investment, where you enter your personal contact details.

They may also pretend to be BlackRock employees or senior executives promising high investment returns. Common schemes include inviting individuals to stock or crypto training sessions on social media and offering to share trading signals. As part of cryptocurrency scams, victims may be prompted to place trades on various fake trading platforms and asked to deposit additional funds before withdrawing the returns of their fake investments.

They may send you links to genuine company websites to gain your trust, claiming to represent them. They may even use the names of genuine employees at the company or impersonate a genuine employee using fake social media accounts (e.g, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram etc) and offer attractive investment opportunities in the name of BlackRock through social media platforms.

Recent examples:

  • Fixed rate bond scams offering guaranteed returns. We have seen a number of these targeting different financial institutions, including BlackRock.
  • Cryptocurrency investment scams offering highly attractive and guaranteed returns.
  • Fake investment opportunities offered by individuals on dating or other social media apps or channels.

Warning signs of investment scams can include:

  • Promises of high guaranteed returns with little or no risk.
  • Unsolicited contact from individuals claiming to be employees or affiliates of large, well-known companies.
  • Pressurizing you to invest immediately.
  • Emails sent from domains that have been created to look like well-known companies.
  • Individuals or entities that are not registered with the financial regulators.
  • Financial regulatory websites (such as the FCA Scamsmart page: https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart) have published a warning about the individual or entity that you have been contacted by.

Am I being scammed?

Fraudsters can target you through many channels such as phone calls, text messages, social media, emails or even the post.

Emails outside BlackRock’s domains

Were you contacted by someone claiming to be an employee using an email other than “@BlackRock.com” or other official domain?

App downloads through social media

Were you told to download an investment/crypto App through social media?

Suspicious job offers

Were you offered a job opportunity from someone pretending to be associated with “BlackRock” and then asked to make a payment?

Social media contacts with investment offers

Were you approached about an investment (e.g. Crypto, bonds) on social media by someone claiming to be associated with BlackRock and asked to make a payment?

It’s NOT BlackRock, you’ve been scammed!

BlackRock’s official email domains and social media channels can be found in the More Resources section below. All BlackRock jobs for which we are externally recruiting are posted on our careers site.

Protect yourself from scams and fraud

You should always remain cautious and alert to the risk of frauds or scams, especially before making any payments. Here are some tips on how to protect your money and personal information:

DOs

  • Remain vigilant and challenge what you are being told. If you are unsure, do not proceed. Look out for potential warning signs.
  • Check with someone you trust or obtain a phone number from a trusted source before making a decision (do not use the one on the documentation you have been sent).
  • Some regulators, like the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Ireland’s Central Bank of Ireland publish warning lists about investment scams so be sure to check those. Please note that fraudsters and scammers can change their tactics quickly so there may be a time delay in such warnings being published.
  • Install anti-virus software on your devices and ensure your mobile and tablets are updated to the latest operating systems.
  • Shred information about your financial investments, do not just throw it away.
  • For digital assets products, please ensure you check token addresses carefully as perpetrators may seek to change 1 or 2 characters or digits to make it appear that there is a match.

DON'Ts

  • Never give out your personal information (such as bank details, PIN numbers and passwords) to anyone who contacts you out of the blue.
  • Never make a payment because you feel pressurized to do so.
  • Never click on a link in an email or message you have received that you were not expecting. Criminals could be using this as a tactic to gain access to your IT systems.
  • Never grant someone that called you unexpectedly remote access to your computer or any other device.

I've been scammed. What do I do?

If you believe you’ve been scammed and have lost money, we recommend taking the following steps:

1. Contact your bank

Immediately contact your bank. They may be able to stop or recall the payment.

2. Report to law enforcement

Report it to law enforcement in your jurisdiction.

3. Report to financial regulator

Report it to the financial regulator in your jurisdiction, if appropriate.

Contact BlackRock about a scam

If you’ve become aware of a scam or suspect that there is a scam that is using BlackRock’s name or claiming to involve someone that works for BlackRock, please contact us immediately at reportascam@blackrock.com.

Report a scam