Central Bank of Ireland Issues Warning on Unauthorised Firm –
Fraudulent entity clones Central Bank of Ireland authorised firm First Start Finance Limited
13 October 2023
Warning Notice
It has come to the Central Bank of Ireland’s (‘Central Bank’) attention that a fraudulent firm has cloned the details of a Central Bank authorised firm, First Start Finance Limited, and has been operating as a Retail Credit Firm in the State in the absence of an appropriate authorisation. The fraudulent entity is using the same name as the legitimately authorised firm, First Start Finance Limited, and is advertising loans on its website but it holds no authorisation from the Central Bank as a Retail Credit Firm. This scam is an example of an ‘advance fee fraud’, where an upfront payment fee is sought prior to a loan being provided. The loans are never provided.
The unauthorised firm is operating the website https://www.firststartfinancelimited.com/ and the contact information used by this unauthorised firm includes:
- the telephone numbers:
- 01 254 2803; and
- +44 20 81335108.
The unauthorised entity, First Start Finance Limited, has cloned the details (name and Central Bank registration details) of a legitimate firm authorised by the Central Bank and it should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the Central Bank authorised firm and the scam entity that has cloned its details.
The scam entity is connected to other fraudulent entities similarly carrying out advance fee fraud scams under the names Alpha Finance Ood, Ark Finance, Balanced Finance, Blackstone Financing Ltd, Bridging Loans, City-County Finance and Finance One Ltd.
A list of unauthorised firms published to date is available on the Central Bank website.
It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised firm / person to provide financial services in Ireland that would require an authorisation under the relevant legislation, which the Central Bank is the responsible body for enforcing. Consumers should check the Central Bank registers online to find out if a firm / person they are dealing with is authorised. Consumers should be wary of advertisements offering loans from unauthorised firms or persons. There are some general steps
that individuals should take before dealing with firms / persons, which purport
to offer financial services:
- If you are buying a
financial product such as a loan, insurance, investment or pension, or
engaging a financial service such as investment advice, only deal with a
Central Bank authorised firm / person – check our Register to see if the firm / person is registered. Always
access the Register from our website, rather than through links in emails
or on a firm’s / person’s website.
- Always double-check the
URL and contact details of a firm / person in case it is a ‘clone firm /
person’ pretending to be an authorised firm / person, such as your bank or
a genuine investment firm.
- Check the list of unauthorised firms. If the firm / person is not on our list, do not
assume it is legitimate – it may not have been reported to the Central
Bank yet.
- Check that the product
being offered to you is present on the website of the legitimate firm.
- If you are considering buying
a financial product or dealing with a firm, through a website or social
media, or if you receive an unsolicited phone call, email, text message or
pop-up box out of the blue, take the SAFE test.
- For further
information, please visit the Avoiding Scams and Unauthorised Activity section of the Central Bank’s website.
Please remember:
·
the
Central Bank will never contact you asking for money, your personal data or
your PPS number; and
·
if you
are offered something that seems too good to be true, it is most likely a scam.
Any
person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such
firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 4000. This line is also available to the public to
check if a firm is authorised.
Ends
Notes to editors
The name of
the above firm is published under Section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision
and Enforcement) Act 2013.