Take care when buying a Picasso

AudlemOnline has received this warning from Action Fraud, through the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

Cold calls selling Fine Art

People nationwide are receiving cold calls and are being persuaded to invest in 'Fine Art'.

Concerns around this include

• How the commodity is being offered, such as how the cold callers persuade victims to part with their money.
• Hidden costs charged to the victims to view the product, shipping costs or additional fees to store the item.

How to protect yourself

• If the investment sounds too good to be true it probably is.
• Hang-up on investment cold calls. Legitimate companies will not ring-up and offer you an investment out of the blue.
• Do not give out personal financial information to cold callers
• Check whether the art dealer is a member of a trade association, such as The Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD), The Association of Art and Antique Dealers (LAPADA), The British Art Dealers Association (BADA) or Confederation of International Dealers in Art Work (CINOA).
• Request copies of old receipts, invoices and question the history of the previous owner of the art investment, to check if the product is genuine before investing.

This information has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau)

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