Nobody thinks they will become the victim of a scam, until they are. A record four million cases of fraudsters stealing money were registered last year, according to UK Finance, a banking trade body – with plenty more going unreported.
Sam Little, a 35-year-old former contestant of BBC show The Traitors, revealed last week he had lost £40,000 in life savings to a phishing scam. “I like to think I’m savvy, but it can catch anyone,” he said.
“Record 4m fraud cases in UK; Sam Little lost £40k; romance and delivery scams surge.”
Fraudsters are deploying three popular tricks that cost victims millions. The first: mass messages pretending to be a relative or a delivery company. The “Hi Mum” text – and a surge in “Hi Dad” versions in the run-up to Father’s Day – is followed by an urgent request to send money. Messages about missed deliveries include a link to an official-looking website run by fraudsters, which gathers banking information used in so-called remote-purchase fraud. Some £423m was lost this way last year, according to UK Finance.
Experts urge people to avoid tapping on links. If a message claims to be from, for example, Royal Mail, then type out the genuine Royal Mail website. Card details can be stolen in many ways, but fraudsters often need a One-Time Passcode (OTP) to complete a theft. These should be treated as carefully as bank details and never given to someone who calls pretending to authorise a transaction. Fraudsters are skilled in keeping you on the phone for ages to trick you into giving the number.
The second scam: romance fraud, which is at a record high. The victim joins a dating website, chats to someone with whom they build a relationship over time, until eventually there is a request for money. On average, victims send 10 payments to the fraudster. Some never accept their loved one isn’t real. The fraudster uses fake pictures, often taken from the profiles of people innocently posting on social media. After being groomed, victims are told of an accident, or the supposed partner needing help to pay for a ticket to meet up.
How to avoid it? It isn’t very romantic, but when meeting someone on a dating website put their picture in a reverse image search. Most search engines have that as an option, and it might show whether they are telling the truth about who they are. Experts also urge people never to send money to someone they haven’t met, and to be open with family and friends.