Email from Saxo requesting documents

I got this from an email address: <uk@mail.saxoemail.com>

Is this above board?

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: ACTION REQUIRED BEFORE 31 March 2016 - Document renewal and FATCA status certification

Dear xxx,

IMMEDIATE ATTENTION REQUIRED on Account ID: xxx

This e-mail constitutes a legal notice regarding your account.

1. Document renewal

In order to meet our regulatory obligations, we need to obtain updated Proof of Identity and Proof of Residence documentation for your account.

2. FATCA status certification

Further to the new US tax regulations ("FATCA") which came into effect on July 1st 2014 you will need to comply with FATCA in line with Saxo Capital Markets UK Limited's (SCML) obligations and confirm your status with us by completing the relevant W-8 Form.

For reference, FATCA is the name for US Internal Revenue Code Chapter 4 and deals with the identification and reporting of US persons as well as penalties for entities such as financial clients who do not register with the IRS or are not otherwise 'deemed compliant'. These regulations are in addition to the current Internal Revenue Code Chapter 3 under which we are able to offer Tax Relief at Source on US source income to your accounts with SCML.

REQUIRED ACTION

Before 31 March 2016 you must provide us with the following documents:

1. Proof of Identity - please provide us with a clear copy of ONE of the following:

• Passport (preferred)
  Please include both the photo and signature page
• UK Photo card driving license
  Please note that your driving license cannot be used as both proof of identity and proof of residence

2. Proof of Residence - please provide us with a clear copy of ONE of the following:

• Bank or Credit Card Statement issued by an EU, EEA or equivalent regulated financial institution (preferred)
• Utility bill (mobile phone bills cannot be accepted)

All documents confirming your current residential address must have been issued within the last 3 months. If you are unable to provide the above, please reply to this email and we will inform you of acceptable alternative documentation.

3. W-8 Form - please complete and return to us the relevant W-8 Form.

You can find more information on FATCA on the IRS website. You can find the W-8 Form series and guidance notes here: https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/FATCA-Related-Forms. For most individual clients, the W-8BEN Form will be appropriate, however, for an overview of all available forms Saxo Capital Markets UK Limited strongly recommends that you visit the IRS website or consult your external tax advisor.

Please be aware that SCML does not provide any advice on any tax issues related to any services. You are advised to obtain independent advice from your financial advisor, auditor or legal counsel.

It remains your obligation to ensure that the relevant W-8 Form is correctly completed and returned to us. Please note that if any US back-up tax is withheld on payments to your account, you will need to work directly with the Internal Revenue Service yourself to obtain any refund.

IMPORTANT

If you choose not to take action on this legal notice and fail to supply all of the above mentioned documents by 31 March 2016, your account may be closed or restricted.

WHERE TO SEND DOCUMENTS AND QUERIES TO

Please send these to the following email address: SCMLrenewal@saxomarkets.com making sure you quote your Account ID number as stated at the top of this notification.

Best regards,
Saxo Capital Markets UK Ltd.

If you are a client of Saxo, they are probably updating their records. If you are not a client then ................................................

Probably not, the type of information be requested is similar with that required by banks for 'know your customer' requirements, but not exactly! For instance unverified documents are not acceptable, so requesting scans to be send to an email address should raise a red flag, others include the failure to use their primary domain email address and so on.

The best approach is to contact the bank directly and check if any action is required.

I got it too and have a Saxo account. I highly expect it is valid, very good points from Jim though.