Related Articles
A message arrives from a loved one. They are in trouble and they need help urgently.
It would be difficult to ignore, and that’s exactly what happened to Gerry Ellis. It wasn’t until he’d handed over almost £7,000 that he realised the person he thought was his daughter getting in touch with him wasn’t
“It’s a very clever scam,” he added. “On the fifth attempt, I realised it was suspicious. I’m devastated,” said the retired 80-year-old.
Read more:Students warned to avoid ‘easy money’ bank account scam that could see them jailed for 14 years
But he’s far from the only person to be caught out by scammers. Frauds of many different types have soared over the past year, with online shopping the most common type, according to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Sometimes it’s accidently easy to fall victim of fraud when text messages, website or phone calls seem so ‘real’. You could end up giving away access to your bank account and losing thousands of pounds if you are not careful.
Find out about crime levels where you live:
Further below is a list of some of the scams which have ended up duping people into handing over their hard-earned money and personal details.
But if you are unsure a correspondence is genuine, locate contact details for the company, organisation or government body via their official website listed in your search engine and make enquiries direct. Often, organisations will have details of common scams on their websites, to help people identify if they are likely being tricked.
DVLA
The DVLA is warning motorists to watch out for scam emails and texts, according to Which? which has said scammers are impersonating the DVLA and have been targeting motorists in recent weeks.
The scammers have been attempting to gather personal and financial details.
The DVLA has also issued warnings over rip-off third-party websites charging hefty fees for processing DVLA applications.
According to Which?, In the past 12 months, the DVLA has reported that it’s also received over 800 reports of unofficial rip-off services offering driving licence renewal services to over-70s.
The DVLA has noted some third-party websites are charging elderly drivers as much as £81 to renew their driver’s licence online, reports The Mirror.
How to avoid a DVLA scam
– The DVLA says it never asks for a reply to emails or text messages.
– Even if a text or email appears to be from the DVLA, it’s a scam if you’re asked for payment details or to log in to your account.
– When applying for a DVLA service you should check the website address and ensure you only use a ‘Gov.uk‘ website.
You can now get all of the need-to-know news sent straight to your inbox by signing up for our free WalesOnline newsletter.
It takes just seconds to subscribe – simply click here, enter your email address and follow the instructions.
HMRC
According to Which?, HMRC has detected more than 450 Covid financial support scams, responded to more than one million reports of suspicious contact and reported more than 13,000 malicious web pages in the past year.
Many scammers try to copy HMRC’s messages so they look authentic and victims are thought more likely to transfer money to an institution they recognise and trust.
Which? has revealed the most common ways scammers are trying to commit tax scams:
HMRC phone scams – HMRC responded to 441,954 phone scams, 117% on the previous year. In July, 2021, there were 12,037 phone scam reports.
The most common phone scams are automated messages telling you a warrant is out for your arrest due to not paying enough tax. HMRC never issues this warning, so it’s advised to hang up if you receive a call like this.
Malicious web pages – More than 13,316 malicious web pages were reported by HMRC, a lot may look very similar to HMRC’s official pages, or might pretend to be officially affiliated with the tax authority.
Which? advises people to look out for paid-for ads that appear at the top of search engine results, as some scammers purposefully target HMRC-related search terms.
Tax rebates- HMRC responded to 463,457 reports of suspicious contact from the public offering bogus tax rebates in the past year. HMRC doesn’t contact anyone by text or email about tax rebates, so any messages you receive about this will be fake.
What to do if you receive an HMRC scam according to Gov.uk
– Even if you get the same or similar scam contacts often, report them.
– Do not open attachments or click any links in an email or text message, as they may contain malicious software or direct you to a misleading website.
– Delete any emails or texts once you’ve reported them.
Royal Mail
Neighbourhood Watch Schemes are warning people to be aware of a scam targeting people expecting letters and parcels from Royal Mail.
The scam involves an email which claims Royal Mail has tried to deliver a parcel – and then asks you to pay £1.99 to arrange re-delivery.
The email directs you to an official-looking page where you will be asked to give away your bank details.
According to The Express the style of the email and the low fee makes the scam appear legitimate.
Digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy, Ray Walsh said: “Anybody who receives an email claiming to be from the Royal Mail must remember that they will not ever be asked to pay a redelivery fee.
“Never input your bank or card information after following a link on any email that claims it is from the Royal Mail, because it will result in your card details being stolen by criminals.
“If you have reason to believe that you may have been tricked, it is essential that you contact your bank and cancel your card at once, additionally, check your statements for any signs of unauthorised transactions.”
The Royal Mail has offered further advice for those who think they could be getting tricked.
A statement on its website said: “If you receive a suspicious email or discover a Royal Mail branded website which you think is fraudulent, please let us know by contacting us.
“If you have been the victim of a payment scam, you can get a crime reference number by reporting it to your local police station.”
Customers are urged to check the subject line and email address before responding to a message.
Parcel deliveries
Shoppers are being warned to be wary about receiving fake messages sent out by Cyber criminals who send out more scam messages about parcel deliveries around the Christmas period.
Cyber-security firm, Proofpoint, said it was seeing ten times more scam messages this year compared to 2020.
Speaking to BBC News, Vice President Jacinta Tobin said: “We are totally susceptible because we trust and we act quickly. And up to only a few years ago texts were mostly used by friends and families.”
She said businesses had only recently moved to texts. “So have scammers and it’s very effective for them.”
Android
People with an Android phone are being warned about a new scam that can lead to phone owners having their bank details stolen, as criminals take over the device when you answer the call.
It uses malware called BRATA that can evade most anti-virus scanners and has snuck onto the Google Play Store, reports the Daily Record.
Cleafy, a fraud management firm, discovered the latest version of the malware which can evade the majority of anti-virus scanners.
The text contains a link to a fake site and an invitation to download a fake anti-spam app that can overtake phones with the alarming power to access pictures, texts and record screens.
Hackers will then call their targets to convince them to install the app in a process that requires multiple permissions which will allow criminals to take over the device.
Once installed, the scammers can remotely control victims’ phones and make fraudulent transactions.
In order to stay safe from such texts, always beware of any unsolicited messages you receive asking you to hand over personal information such as bank details, or usernames and passwords for online accounts.
Also, be cautious of any messages that advise you to download apps you haven’t heard of or click on links that don’t look official.
Retired Gerry Ellis lost almost £7,000 to scammers on messaging website WhatsApp, after cyber criminals sent him a message pretending to be his daughter.
“I have just been caught and lost nearly £7,000,” the 80-year-old told The Mirror.
“My daughter is going through a divorce at the moment, and it seemed to make sense. The text said she’d changed her number and her bank because of the divorce and asked for money to pay a bill, so I said yes, sure.”
Gerry sent her £2,800.
“When I asked what it was for, she said it was a medical bill that she did not want to talk about. I went online and checked the name and the doctor, and it was a genuine doctor, so I paid it. This happened four times in total in which they asked for help to pay emergency bills.
“My bank initially blocked it but I called them up to OK it and they did some checks and put it through.”
Get stories like this straight to your inbox with our newsletters.
