The UK's fraud epidemic.

[SteveH]

I received a telephone call this morning from 01492594973 informing me there had been an attempt to take two payments out of my account but not which account. Then went on to ask me to press 1 for further assistance. I have had these calls before which turned out to be scams, but never from a local number which is worrying. On checking the number online all it's saying is it's a BT Landline located in Colwyn Bay. Has anyone else received one of these calls, or has anyone got a suggestion as to who I can report this too?

Meleri, here is one link .......... https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/scam-phone-call-warning


The above from Google search page, plus more below..........
https://www.google.com/search?q=who+do+you+report+suspicious+fraud+phone+calls&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB813GB813&oq=who+do+you+report+suspicious+fraud+phone+calls&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRifBdIBCjMwNjc5ajBqMTWoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Ian]

I received a telephone call this morning from 01492594973 informing me there had been an attempt to take two payments out of my account but not which account. Then went on to ask me to press 1 for further assistance. I have had these calls before which turned out to be scams, but never from a local number which is worrying. On checking the number online all it's saying is it's a BT Landline located in Colwyn Bay. Has anyone else received one of these calls, or has anyone got a suggestion as to who I can report this too?

I would use Action Fraud, Meleri.

[Meleri]

Thanks very much Steve & Ian for your suggestions I will do that.

[Ian]

What you saw was an example of Number spoofing, Meleri, a technique which is seeing a rapid  rise at the moment.  It's simple to do and is making a fortune for scammers, particularly among the sufferers of Alzheimer's and other age-related memory issues. 

[Meleri]

I haven't heard of that before Ian, so thanks for letting me know very much appreciated.

[Ian]

Channel 5 has recently started re-running the Alexis Conran series on scam types. It can be streamed on My 5 and it's arguably the best anti-scam programme out there.

[Ian]

Telephone scams:

Sky maintenance call

Recipients of this ?Sky Maintenance? call report that you're asked if you?d like to renew or cancel your contract with Sky or that an insurance payment for your Sky equipment is due.

In some calls, recipients have been offered a discount on their Sky services or threatened with a fine for not answering the caller?s questions.

The caller also asks for your account details; giving this information away is likely to result in another scam attempt.

HMRC scam call

These calls are a recorded message telling you that legal action (or a 'lawsuit') is being taken against you and to press one on your keypad to speak to someone or make a payment.  Some recorded messages also threaten you with being arrested for unpaid tax.

These out-of-the-blue calls can be quite concerning and may encourage you to act fast.

If you receive a call impersonating HMRC, you can report it to HMRC using its online form

.You'll be asked to sign in using your Government Gateway user ID or your email address.

[Ian]

Telephone Preference Service scam

A call from scammers impersonating the telephone preference service (TPS) tells you that you need to reactivate your registration with the service to ?protect you from scammers?.

The TPS is a free service which stops unsolicited sales and marketing calls and you can register online. The scam caller also asks for your bank details to complete the registration.

Passport scam call

Fraudsters have been calling potential victims and leaving recorded messages that claim there's a problem with your passport or visa application and to press one to speak to someone.

The official passport advice line is 0300 222 0000. You can also track your passport application process online

Avoiding phone scams

You could consider installing a call blocker to avoid spam and scam calls.

You should also be aware that fraudsters can keep your phone line open after you?ve hung up on a scam call. So, if you want to call the genuine company on a legitimate number, use a different phone or wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes before you make a call.

For bank impersonation scams, you can Call 159 and you'll be put through to your bank's genuine customer service line.

Reporting phone scams

To report a scam call you can text the word ?call? followed by the phone number to 7726.

On WhatsApp, open the WhatsApp chat with the dodgy phone number and tap 'block.' You can report the contact by tapping 'report contact' and 'block'.

If you become the victim of a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud
or call the police on 101 if you?re in Scotland.

[SteveH]

Fake Olympics and Taylor Swift tickets are the two biggest online scams consumers are likely to encounter this year, UK Finance has warned.

The alert came as the banking lobby group reported that the number of people tricked by romance fraud and purchase scams jumped to new highs last year.

Overall, criminals stole ?1.17bn in 2023, down 4% from 2022, according to the group's annual report on fraud.

But UK Finance said the abuse of online platforms continued to leave people vulnerable. It called on tech companies to do more to help stop the scams.

Consumers lost ?86m last year to purchase scams, in which they agreed to pay for something that never materialised, UK Finance said.

That was up 28% from 2022. In total, there were more than 156,000 cases of such fraud last year.

?Every year we see a cycle of scams changing throughout the year," said Ben Donaldson, the managing director of economic crime at UK Finance.

"Olympics and Taylor Swift are the two biggest examples of this year."

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clww3pwz4r1o

[SteveH]

Caravan scammers conning people out of holiday cash

Scammers are using Facebook to target people looking for caravan holidays and catfish them out of money.

Ann Crofts, 53, paid a £75 deposit for a caravan holiday at New Quay, Ceredigion, only to learn her details were used to set up a shopping account.

And a 17-year-old who paid a £240 deposit to someone advertising a caravan holiday turned up at the site to be told the caravan she booked did not exist.

A spokesperson from Meta, which owns Facebook, said it did not allow "fraudulent activity" and was "investigating the accounts brought to our attention".

A Which? consumer expert said these types of scams were "incredibly prevalent", and said Facebook should do more to protect people.

cont Scammers are using Facebook to target people looking for caravan holidays and catfish them out of money.

Ann Crofts, 53, paid a £75 deposit for a caravan holiday at New Quay, Ceredigion, only to learn her details were used to set up a shopping account.

And a 17-year-old who paid a £240 deposit to someone advertising a caravan holiday turned up at the site to be told the caravan she booked did not exist.

A spokesperson from Meta, which owns Facebook, said it did not allow "fraudulent activity" and was "investigating the accounts brought to our attention".

A Which? consumer expert said these types of scams were "incredibly prevalent", and said Facebook should do more to protect people.

[SteveH]

Disputes over fraud and scams have hit their highest level for at least six years, according to the financial ombudsman.

New figures show thousands of complaints about cases were made to the ombudsman between April and June, with nearly half upheld.

The data comes as banks warn about people being exposed to potential scams as they organise post-summer life admin.

Experts say the emotional and financial impact of becoming a scam victim is "horrendous".

Campaigners say that some people are being exposed to scams as they fill their work and social diaries following a summer break.

Being busy and distracted can mean people are less likely to double-check messages are genuine, according to the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, run by banking trade body UK Finance.

So, the advice is to step back to consider requests for money or personal details before being tricked.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clywrwryz3ko

[Dave]

There have been some very attractive clothing offers appearing on Facebook but many are scams.
It's easy to be taken in and before ordering and risking a relatively small amount of money, check out web sites and addresses. Use Google Maps to check the address and if they don't give one on their web page don't order either.
Some sites will simply take your money and that's the last you will hear of it. Itmight be possible to get it back via your credit card company but many presumably just don't bother as they perceive the effort not worthwhile.
Another practice it seems is to send your goods, often from China, and they are not what was described or shown in the photograph. They offer a full refund on return but no postage cost included. You wouldn't bother!
The best advice is unless you are 100% certain they are legit....don't bother! The tell tale warnings are mainly in plain sight if you look. The biggest come on is nearly always price.

[Hugo]

Scams and fraud happen in all walks of life as we have seen over recent years.      I just turned on the TV this morning and it was halfway through a programme on BBC One called SAS catching the criminals.       It was really great to watch but it also showed you how clever the crimals were and it covered a variety of things from illegal Eel catching to illegal tobacco products.   The SAS team had to use all their training to stop the criminal activity.
It's on BBC One tomorrow at 10.45 am so I'll make a point of watching it again

[SteveH]

Savers are being urged to stay vigilant and protect their pensions and investments from fraudsters.

Action Fraud has revealed this week that in 2023, it received 559 reports of pension fraud equating to £17,750,635 lost, with an average loss of £46,959 per person.

The national fraud and cybercrime reporting service has launched a pension fraud awareness campaign, warning people to protect their pension pots and investments from fraudsters, by encouraging the public to do their research before making changes to pension arrangements.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24583950.caution-urged-17-7m-lost-pension-fraud-2023/

[SteveH]

Fake universal credit app warning as DWP launches investigation
'This is not the official app for Universal Credit and may not be secure'

Police have warned people of a fake universal credit app that is available to download, which may not be secure. It is reported to offer features like applying for advance payments, making account changes and viewing statements.

A North Wales Police statement said: "We’ve been made aware of a fake Universal Credit app that is available to download. This is not the official app for Universal Credit and may not be secure.

"The Department for Work and Pensions is investigating. If you have it on your device the advice is to uninstall the app and access your UC account via the Government’s website: https://orlo.uk/4TYYi "

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/fake-universal-credit-app-warning-30050691?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589