The 9.5% bond scam

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• GBP to USD: $1.2597 ⬇️ 1.02%

• GBP to EUR: €1.1631 ⬆️ 0.86%

Beware the 9.5% bond scam

There is a fantastic post on Reddit’s r/UKPersonalFinance subreddit that everyone should read. Its title is, “Is 9.5% on a 5 year bond unusual?” and the user wants to know if he or she should invest in it:

“I’ve been offered a 5 year bond from a major investment institution with annual interest of 9.5%. This is way more than I’ve seen being offered elsewhere. This makes it attractive, but is this a too good to be true offer, and potentially a scam? How can I validate if it is legitimate? It all looks very convincing, and I’ve got to a point where they’ve sent me an application form, but my scam warning alert is sounding in my head.”

Spoiler alert: It’s almost certainly a scam, and it’s a relatively sophisticated one.

Here’s how it works

The …