U.K. Watchdog Says Consumer Scam Inquires Have Risen by a Third

More Britons are reporting possible scams to the Financial Conduct Authority, in the latest sign of growing fraud in the finance industry.

The U.K. markets regulator got 16,400 inquiries between April and September 2021, up about a third from the same period a year earlier, according to a statement Thursday. The most common scams reported were boiler rooms, which pressure people into buying fake or overpriced investments; scams involving cryptocurrencies; FCA impersonation; and recovery rooms, which promise victims of earlier scams their money back, for a fee.

The FCA said it opened more than 300 cases relating to potential unregistered ...