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As Brits continue to be targeted for their financial details, personal finance experts Ocean Finance have warned of the seven types of scams you should be more worried about.
This week, unsuspecting victims have found themselves fall victim to the latest Royal Mail scam, where people are asked to pay for ‘unpaid shipping fees’ via text, only to input their bank details to a fraudulent website.
This is known as an ‘impersonation scam’, and was highlighted as one of the most popular emerging scams in a report by personal finance experts, Ocean Finance
Ocean Finance submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the National Fraud Authority (NFA) and surveyed 1,000 Brits about their financial fraud knowledge.
They found that there were 1,467,962 instances of fraud between 2018-2020 with a 12% rise in 2020, of those scammed, 33% of fraud victims had lost over £1,001.
Despite this worrying trend, 56% of Brits admitted to not doing anything to protect themselves against the most common financial scams.
Ocean Finance asked Brits what scams they are most worried about and revealed seven emerging scams in the UK people should be more concerned about.
1. ‘Romance Scams’
This is where fraudsters create a fake online dating profile and build enough trust to ask for money or enough personal information to steal your identity. Lockdown has left many Brits feeling alone, and some may have turned to online dating. Whilst many Brits may believe they’re too savvy for this scam, 400 of these scams are reported to Action Fraud, per month.
2. ‘Boiler Room Scams’
A classic “too good to be true” scam where victims are cold-called about a sure-fire way to make money quickly (e.g. stocks or investments) and are pressured into making an on the spot decision about transferring money.
3. ‘Video Conferencing Malware’
Scammers are sending official-looking invites with a button to “open” up the Zoom app, however, once opened, it downloads malware that can access your passwords and usernames for all accounts. Many Brits are remote-working, and the number of daily Zoom participants has increased to 200 million compared to 10 million back in December 2019 – leading to an increased interest from fraudsters.
4. ‘New Account Fraud’
A scam where fraudsters use your details to open a new bank account, with the objective being to max out the credit limit as soon as possible before vanishing. This often leaves the victim caught up in legal and financial trouble whilst the case is resolved.
5. ‘Fake Test and Trace Calls’
Fraudsters are pretending to be from the NHS and are contacting people and offering a ‘fast track’ COVID testing for a fee, however, the NHS would never ask you to pay an upfront fee. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) received 600,000 reports about this scam in the first three months of the pandemic.
6. ‘Impersonation Scams’
One of the more common scams involves a fraudster getting in touch and pretending to be from a trusted source (e.g. the police, post office or bank) to persuade you to hand over details.
7. ‘Card-Not-Present Fraud’ (CNP)
CNP fraud happens after information on a debit or card has been stolen and sold on the Dark Web, without the need for a physical card. The lockdown has led to more people buying and banking online – increasing opportunities for fraudsters as consumers input their bank details.
