The UK's financial regulator has warned of an increasing number of fraudsters impersonating it.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said scammers using its identity were trying to get people to hand over money or sensitive information, like PINs and passwords, as reported by the BBC.

So far this year, more than 7,700 instances of this type of scam have been reported to the FCA - more than double the figure in 2021.

A common tactic used by scammers was to tell people they were owed compensation, then ask for bank details or a processing fee to arrange payment.

The FCA said it doesn't contact people in this way, and anyone asked for such personal information should ignore the email or hang up the phone.

The FCA gave the following advice:

• Check to make sure a call is genuine by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768

• Check the sender's email address. If you're not sure the email is genuine, ignore it and contact the FCA directly.

• Check the spelling and grammar of an email. If it doesn't look right, ignore the email and report it to the organisation being impersonated or Action Fraud.

• Scammers can make an organisation's switchboard numbers appear in your caller ID. Don't give out any personal information following an incoming call and don't call back using the contact details the callers provide.