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

Fraud and Scams

In this article, I want to take you through some of the scams and frauds that are currently taking place across the UK. This article is paired with the video which walks through the different types of frauds and how to protect yourself and your loved ones. Today I’ll take you through five different types and Wednesdays article will cover the remaining five common examples.

What types of frauds occur:

Romance, Holiday scams, Ticket, Email (Phishing, vishing and smishing) and investment.

Romance Fraud:

Romance fraud takes on the persona of a man or woman trying to groom the victim who genuinely believes the person on the other side of the account is interested in pursuing a relationship. The fraud comes from them impersonating often a real person using real content stolen from another individual’s social media accounts. These scammers then aim to make money from unsuspecting individuals for various needs of these fake personas. Now, this particular fraud has cost over fifty million and like other frauds is on the increase. How to protect yourself DATES: ensure you Don’t enter into an online relationship without getting to know the person behind the profile and the scammer will try to get you to know to influence you into sending them money by getting to know them this should be a two-way system. You can do this by Analysing their profile does their name come up in social media profiles or any particular red flags that appear such as they repeatedly use common themes. Talk think about whether what they are saying is true or whether they are too good to be true we all have our flaws and this is something that should be evidenced in conversations. Evade scams you should never be pressured to send your money or bank details regardless of whether it is for gifts or to help the individuals out. Stay on the different dating platforms this is more prevalent on social media whether the dating websites securities to identify the individual have not been done. Once you are ready meet them in person. This is also not just a problem that faces men sixty-three percent of Women suffer under romance scams as well.

Holiday Scams:

Holiday scams may increasingly become more of a problem as we look to reopen following lockdowns. So how can you be mindful that you do not get scammed and remember this can be both national and international scams. In terms of holidays whether you are purchasing a holiday home, a holiday or an overnight stay make sure that the prices are not significantly different from competitors this is not to deter you from bargains simply making you are aware to do your due diligence in areas which are significantly cheaper. Using recognised providers this includes new entrants who are competitors in the market provide you with safeguards against disingenuous fraudsters to give you more peace of mind. Whether this is tour operators such as British Airways, or brokers such as Air BnB. Warning signs would be poor spelling and shoddy grammar, incorrect addresses, no security on the website such as privacy policies.

Ticket Scams:

Now Ticket Scams can be broadly similar except they are often advertising for a particular event rather than a trip. This has two areas which are important to avoid supporting ticket touts or scalpers who buy tickets in bulk and stop this type of business which is very often not transferable to other patrons and therefore lines their profit leads events down on audience members and hits attendees hard. The scams can also be fake tickets either for a fake event or fake ticket been resold the best way to prevent this is to buy from the correct providers and ensure that you use more secure payments such as credit cards for an extra safeguard.

Phishing, Vishing and Smishing:

Although this is largely covered by the video to give you a summary of what you are looking for they are largely trying to pass themselves off as official organisations who would normally be in contact with you. Whilst they may well try to use contact you more personally unless your name is out in the media it is unlikely mass scams will try to do this. This is easier to spot when the address contains random letters and numbers in it and again do not click the links go through the traditional webpages available through search engines. Now Vishing when combined with phone number spoofing allows scammers to pretend to be legitimate organisations to either defraud you out of money or access your financial information. This is something that they can do through both in a more threatening manner using the police or prosecution as a threat or whether it be unlocking an account. Now Smishing is broadly similar but uses text messages instead where they will have spoofed your number and are chancing on opportunistically getting you to follow instructions and provide them with your bank details. The best thing to remember here is that banks will want you to call them rather than to put you at greater risk, these organisations will not ask for your personal details over text or send you links remember this and screenshot the message, then delete it and contact your bank or relevant organisation.

Investment Scam:

Now, these groups will have collected your information from lists of shareholders and will be trying to tie you to a deal there and then presenting you with an opportunity that you do not want to miss. Any firm should want you to do your due diligence even if the deal is good and they should have your interest at heart. The contact should not be unsolicited by the organisation it should not be a cold call, they should give you the opportunity to get back in contact with them. The investment is too good to be true.

This will be continued in a subsequent article hopefully this will help someone.

https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2019/10/31/dating-and-romance-fraud-in-the-uk-the-latest-statistics/

https://www.sussex.police.uk/romance-fraud

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/02/scam-alert-romance-fraud-victims-lose-50m/

https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/advice/general-advice/holiday-scams/

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/holiday.html

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/04/holiday-scams-travel-dangers-how-to-avoid-them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AgMY9c2d-0