Fraud and Scams Continued
This article follows on from Mondays report and addresses five further types of fraud as well as some tips of how to safeguard yourself.
So what are they: Pension, Advance fee , Courier, Safe Account and Invoice Scams.
Pension scams:
Now starting with pension scams these will often begin targeting you after you have reached the age of 55 where scammers will be aiming to take advantage of your pension pot as you begin to think more about your retirement. Now as with other forms of fraud and scams they will try to make the offer too good to be true they will ask you to release either all of your pension or part of your pension to invest in a scheme that is a sure thing. These vary from projects which look good and paper and which may come with detailed research notes. Now alongside the financial information they may try to pass themselves as more legitimate by claiming to be regulated by the FCA or not needing to be. Now as with everything do your research see if the company is regulated and mentioned by other sites which are reputable and not simply promoted by a means that the scammer can use illegitimately such as bot reviews.
Advance Fee:
Advance fee scams can vary from finders fees for a particular product or service where there is a big reward or potential payout for the individual. Sometimes this will be for a competition that the individual has not entered. Or they can be opportunities where the individual can access a pot of money either from a bank account, lottery scheme or government organisation. This hasn’t however stopped criminals impersonating companies such as how you can make money from home with flexible hours or there is a new business opportunity which you can explore. Remember to consult other organisations to make sure that an opportunity which is either too good to be true is genuine or something you need to avoid. If it is a business opportunity make sure that they do not have the markers of being a scam such as they have a full street address not just a mail box. Any business decision outside of a start up which requires you to put money up front without mutual risk or sharing of accounts informations should raise a red flag and something which you should be hesitant of. If it is a high risk venture either in business or for a competition it would also be prudent to get someone with legal knowledge to look at the contract.
Courier Fraud:
Now courier fraud is where a fraudster will impersonate the police or other official. The main aim which they are trying to convince the victim of is that they have evidence of a fraud and they need the victims money to effectively ensure they can secure evidence against a criminal. This can also be capitalised on if it was a well known case that the criminals are going to use and reference and encourage peoples trust because of how the case being documented in the press. Be aware they can do this in person and over the phone. Now be aware that a bank will never ask for your key information such as personal details or pin if this is the case hang up and call your bank back. They can potentially still be on the line and therefore you should either call from an alternative phone or wait for around ten minutes to call your bank. If someone is at your door never give up your debit card the only place this is ever suitable is at the bank.
Safe Account Scam:
Now this can start with a fraudster telling a victim they have won a reward and that they need to confirm their eligibility with full name, address, and bank details. What then can happen is the person is called again and advised they were part of a scam and that they have had money taken from their account. They will do this by falsely acting as a crime agency or the police. They will then ask the victim to transfer money into a safe account so that her savings are not all in one place. Now banks have protocols in place to try to prevent this but this is often only when this is out of character for the individual. Now it is likely fraudsters will reduce the amounts that they try to defraud out of victims to avoid these protocols. Now the protocols may also not kick in before a crime has been committed and the banks although under pressure to change systems to protect victims are still not regulated sufficiently to facilitate this. Therefore it still falls on the victim to place safeguard measures in place over the organisations.
Invoice Fraud:
Now invoice scams involve customer details being obtained following a phishing scam targeted against an employee. Once they gain access to the system they are then able to send emails to the clients with a falsified invoice. Now companies are often quick to both notice these breaches and to act accordingly however this does not mean that the clients data will not have already been used. Regrettably this points to the fact that emails are quickly becoming the effective medium for fraud and any sudden changes need to be treated cautiously and it is always best to contact the organisation directly.
https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/how-avoid-pension-scams
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/pension-scams
https://www.stpaulschambers.com/types-of-advance-fee-scams/
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/courier-fraud
https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/spending/consumer-rights/scams/what-is-the-courier-fraud-scam
https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/06/scammers-pose-as-the-national-crime-agency-to-steal-30000-from-lloyds-customer/
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/email-invoice-scam-is-conning-thousands-in-the-uk_uk_571884d7e4b06e37a847722f
