By Bailiwick Express News Team

Copyright jerseyeveningpost

Fraudsters posing as Jersey’s financial watchdog have been telling islanders that they will receive a large sum of money – if they pay for a ‘money laundering certificate’ to release the funds.

The JFSC is warning people in Jersey to be on alert for the scam, which has circulated in the form of emails stating that the regulator is currently holding their money for a “regulatory review”.

“If you receive an email like this, do not respond and do not send any money orpersonal information,” the watchdog said, adding: “The JFSC would never:

hold your money, whether for a ‘regulatory review’ or any other reason;

issue ‘Money Laundering Certificates’ for release of funds;

ask you to send us money (unless you’re a legitimate financial institution paying fees); or

ask for sensitive bank details, such as PINs, passwords or card details.”

It went on to urge anyone who receives an email, text or call purporting to be from the JFSC to double-check that the email comes from an official domain (@jerseyfsc.org) and that the website address is genuine (www.jerseyfsc.org).

Anyone unsure is invited to call the JFSC on 01534 822000 and ask to speak to the sender of the email to verify its legitimacy.

Can you spot the signs of a scam?

Some ‘red flags’ that may signal an email has come from a scammer include:

spelling mistakes and poor grammar

pressure and urgency, demanding you to do something

promises or offers that seem too good to be true

asking or telling you to click on a link

unusual payment methods

requests for sensitive or personal information

website addresses and social media accounts that are similar to genuine ones butcontain small changes, or contain extra punctuation

Anyone who receives a scam email is strongly advised not to reply, not to click any links and not to provide personal information or send any money.