We frequently get messages from members asking if an approach that has been made to them to sell their BA/IAG shareholding is legitimate. We approached IAG Investor Relations and received this response:
“These are called ‘boiler scams’ and sadly quite common, but I can promise you there has been no breach of data.
These ‘people’ are using a copy of the British Airways register from prior to the merger, so before 2011. In the UK share registers are public and anyone can request a copy, as a Spanish company the register is not available.
The register will contain the shareholders’ name and address only, we do not/did not hold telephone numbers for our shareholders, so they will have other means to get this information.
Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to stop these ‘people’ but do appreciate you taking the time to contact. We do include a warning in our website but of course not all shareholders will see it or have access.
Kind regards
Sarah Billington
Shareholder Services Manager”
Unfortunately with modern data techniques, it’s all too easy to join up name & address with telephone number and email addresses, even if it’s done speculatively. These companies make many hundreds, even thousands of calls, on the basis that only a few need to be successful.
Our advice is to decline any unsolicited approach and request removal of one’s details from their database. A UK-based organisation is obliged to do this but with overseas based companies, it’s just a request that may or may not be complied with. Blocking the offending number is an option but it’s very easy to disguise incoming numbers. Caution is the watchword!
Here are the contact details for the official channels for IAG share dealings.
https://www.iairgroup.com/en/site-services/contact-us