Sam Little thought he was savvy. The 35-year-old former contestant of BBC show The Traitors had seen the warnings, read the headlines, and believed he would never fall for a scam. Then he lost £40,000 — his entire life savings — to a phishing attack. "I like to think I'm savvy, but it can catch anyone," he said.
His experience is far from unusual. A record four million cases of fraudsters stealing money were registered last year, according to UK Finance, the banking trade body, with many more going unreported. The fraudsters are deploying ever more sophisticated tricks, from a simple text message to months of elaborate deception.
“Record four million fraud cases in UK; Sam Little lost £40k; 'Hi Mum' and romance scams surge.”
One of the most common tactics is the "Hi Mum" message, which begins innocuously — "Hi Mum, I've got a new phone" — before escalating into an urgent request for money. Banks reported a surge in "Hi Dad" versions in the run-up to Father's Day. Another variant involves a message about a missed delivery, containing a link that leads to a fake but official-looking website run by criminals. Once clicked, the victim unwittingly hands over banking details, enabling so-called remote-purchase fraud. Last year, £423m was lost this way, according to UK Finance.
Experts urge people never to tap on such links. Instead, they advise typing the genuine website address directly, such as royalmail.com. Card details can be stolen through data breaches, but fraudsters often need a One-Time Passcode (OTP) to complete the theft. These should be guarded as carefully as bank details and never given to someone who calls claiming to authorise a transaction. "Fraudsters are skilled in keeping you on the phone for ages to trick you into giving the number," the experts warn.
Perhaps the most emotionally devastating scam is romance fraud. Victims join a dating website and build a relationship over time, only to face a request for money. The fraudster uses fake pictures, often stolen from innocent social media profiles. On average, victims send 10 payments before realising they have been duped — and some never accept that their loved one isn't real. The scam is at a record high, with victims told of an accident or a need for a ticket to meet up.
How to protect yourself? It may not feel romantic, but experts recommend carrying out a reverse image search on a dating profile picture; most search engines offer this option. They also urge people never to send money to someone they haven't met, and to be open with family and friends about online relationships. As Sam Little's story shows, the fraudsters are relentless — and nobody is immune.