The UK’s Financial Services Authority is calling on regulators and law enforcement agencies from around the world, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Spanish and German regulators, to help tackle boiler room fraud.

The FSA is hosting the first international boiler room conference to encourage a global response to this global problem. It says that each year, around 30,000 people fall victim to boiler rooms in the UK alone, and it estimates the total fraud at £300 million. The problem is global, it says, as boiler rooms are often based overseas, in Spain, Hong Kong or North America. But their victims tend to be in the UK, Germany, United States and Scandinavia.

“The FSA’s investigations into boiler room activity are showing us just how international the crime is. A firm might be operating out of one country, targeting people in another. But when we follow the trail of the victims’ money, we often find a complex web that may take in a further five or six jurisdictions spanning three or four continents. To take effective action we need to get right to the root of the operation,” said Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement, in a speech to the conference.

“In order to do this, we want to form a strong alliance with our international counterparts, working towards a common goal, sharing information and ideas and understanding that ultimately when we’re talking about boiler rooms, we’re talking about serious organised international crime. We need to provide credible deterrence against these criminal operations and I’m convinced that by working in partnership, together we can make a real impact,” she added.

IE