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Banks regularly deny claims for unfair reasons. A fraud gets called a civil matter, a generic pop-up gets called a warning, or a convincing scam gets judged with hindsight. None of those reasons is the final word. Decisions can be challenged and escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and we know where they most often go wrong.
Why choose Refundee to recover your funds?
Over {{money-recovered-text}} recovered
The total amount we've got back from scams, for our clients.
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Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for claims management.
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Helped over {{total-customers-text}} clients
From single bank transfers to group actions with hundreds of victims.
How to sport an impersonation scam
Impersonation scams work because everything looks right on the surface. The number matches your bank, the email carries the right logo, and the person on the phone sounds calm and professional. The warning signs sit underneath: contact you were not expecting, pressure to act immediately, and a request to move money or share a security code.
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Impersonation fraud occurs when a criminal poses as an individual, company, or trusted organisation to trick a victim into sending money or sharing sensitive information.
Criminals frequently impersonate high-profile figures, such as Elon Musk, Keir Starmer, Martin Lewis, Jeremy Clarkson, Nigel Farage, Taylor Swift, Jason Statham, and Jeff Bezos.
At Refundee, we have seen an increase in impersonation fraud and we recently featured in the Financial Times article looking at the increase in impersonation scams through AI-generated scam advertisements.
If you are the victim of an impersonation scam and sent the funds from a UK bank account, then you have options to recover your money.
As a regulated claims management company, if you’d like our help, just complete our online claim form or give us a call. Remember, you can do it yourself for free by taking your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Common ways fraudsters use impersonation tactics
Number spoofing
Fraud use spoofing technology to display a bank’s or organisation’s real phone number on a victim’s screen during a scam call.
Cloned emails
Scam emails copy a genuine company’s logo, layout, and sender name, often from a near-identical domain, to pass a quick visual check before directing victims to a fake payment page.
AI voice cloning
Short audio samples from public interviews or videos can now generate convincing fake speech, used to fabricate celebrity endorsements or impersonate family members in urgent calls, making voice alone unreliable for verifying identity.
AI Deepfake ads
Scammers use AI technology to create fake ads, usually showing an investment opportunity. Martin Lewis has regularly been a target of these ads, which led him publishing a statement saying he does not promote any investment or crypto opportunities.
Matching branding
Fraudsters replicate a company’s logo, colours, and message format closely, so texts or emails look genuine at a glance and these are most effective when paired with a spoofed number or cloned email address.
Impersonation Scam
Refundee recovers £26,000 for client who fell victim to a Richard Branson impersonation scam
An online advert showing a Richard Branson impersonator promised to teach our client how to trade. After several deposits that appeared to grow, the scammers demanded withdrawal fees our client could not pay. We escalated to the Financial Ombudsman and recovered £26,000 of the £32,000 lost.
Published Date
Impersonation Scam
Refundee recovers £63,000 for celebrity impersonation scam victim
A video of a well-known celebrity promoting an investment drew our client into a fake trading platform. An early withdrawal built trust, then scammers demanded fees to release the profit and cut contact. The bank rejected the claim. We escalated to the Financial Ombudsman and recovered £63,000.
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Impersonation Scam
Refundee recovers £13,000 for HMRC impersonation scam victim
Letters bearing HMRC branding told our client they owed overdue tax and faced criminal proceedings. The phone number led to scammers, who demanded immediate payment or the police would be called. We built the case under APP fraud rules, escalated to the Financial Ombudsman and recovered £13,000.
Published Date
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We’ve helped over {{total-customers-text}} people recover {{money-recovered-text}} in stolen funds.
What is an example of impersonation fraud?
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