The British Financial Conduct Authority has spotted yet another firm that is has not authorised or registered but which has been targeting people in the UK, claiming to be an authorised firm of repute.

This is known in regulatory cirles as a 'clone firm' and fraudsters usually use this tactic when contacting people out of the blue. They sometimes, as in this case, try to back this up by using the 'firm reference number' that the FCA has given that genuine firm.

The details that the cloned version of BNP Paribas gives are as follows.

• Address: 10 Harewood Avenue, London, NW1 6AA
• Telephone: 0208 133 1128
• Email: info@paribaslondon.com???????
• Postal address: 7 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR???????