We dig deep into how to be prepared and what’s involved in preventing a costly bill!
These days scammers are getting more sophisticated, putting in more effort to gain your trust and money!
They are quick to adapt, cunning and ruthless.
How prevalent are scams, and how much is involved?
In the first half of 2021, “..fraudsters in the UK stole a whopping £753.9 million…” In short, £4 million every day. With “More than two-thirds of adults (36 million)… targeted by a scammer..” this was up 30% since 2020.
What steps can we take to prevent a scammer from parting you with your money?
- See the scam as what it truly is, on the balance of probabilities – Do you want to conduct business with these individuals?
- Report it!
- Avoid the chances of being targeted successfully in future!
Read on for detailed descriptions of how to protect yourself from being targeted
Recognising a scam: Is it likely that you’re being scammed?
Recognising a scam: Is it likely that you’re being scammed?
The answer to the following questions may give you the balance of probability.
Does common sense tell you, “It’s too good to be true?”:
The main rule of thumb here is one we have all heard before. “Is the offer too good to be true?” If your gut, head, and heart are all telling you it’s too good to be true – some things are probably amiss.
Cold / unsolicited calls and emails:
Has the person that contacted you done so unexpectedly? Is this your first point of contact?
Examples include unsolicited ‘Cold‘ calls or emails you have not requested.
Are you asked to share intimate, private, personal or financial details?
An additional flag should raise if asked for personal details or financials! This is rarely done. It is against most regulatory or legal practices to do so due to phone scammers stealing/gathering data to defraud and steal your money in other ways. Steps to counter this situation? First, ask about the callers’ identity, then hang up and call the company directly.
Are all contact details vague?
Scammers often use a PO box, premium rate numbers beginning 09 or mobile numbers. Premium rate numbers used in this way can extract money from you directly from the start.
Occasionally, there might be no postal address included, suggesting you’re not dealing with a real company.
Have you been ‘pumped’ for money/investment?
Often, you may be asked to pay for a product or service by unusual methods. Vouchers trading, MoneyGram and Western Union are examples of methods frequently used.
Do they refuse or flout repeated attempts to get written confirmation of what’s agreed?
Many scammers are unwilling to leave an audit trail. Consequently, if you agree to make payment and transferred monies have no written confirmation or agreed terms, you could be left with a debt hangover.
Are you told that the information disclosed is sensitive or secret and that you should not share it with anyone else?
Unfortunately, this technique deprives you of advice and support from your support circle.
Do they use pressure tactics to make a hard sell or emotional plea?
When you feel under pressure, don’t accept it. Instead, take a break and consider what was discussed.
Legally you are entitled to make informed choices about your finance. Pressure tactics should not be accepted, especially on a trust basis.
Grammar and spelling errors and omissions.
In the case of emails, this often gives the scam away. In the UK, due to the professional nature of business, we rarely write documentation or email containing grammatical and spelling errors.
So what can we do together to stop scams and protect ourselves from them in future?
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FEAR YOU’VE BEEN SCAMMED?
IF YOU EVER SEE A SCAM – REPORT IT! IT’S THE ONLY WAY WE’LL EVER GET RID OF THEM!
Stage 1: Report it to your bank or payment provider.
This is the first stage of rapid investigation and any future recovery of monies.
Stage 2: Report the scam to the Police or Action Fraud.
If you have lost money because of a scam, you can contact the Police by calling 101.
Alternatively, Action Fraud is the fraud and cybercrime reporting centre for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Contact directly on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, you can now report scams to Police on 101.
Email Scams:
You can report your situation by email to the internet service provider (ISP) used to send you the email. Usually, through a ‘report‘ button or link in your inbox.
For example, Gmail has a ‘Report spam‘ button, Hotmail has a ‘Report phishing‘ button, while yahoo has an email link (abuse@yahoo.com).
Following contact, the ISP can then close the account that sent the email.
Premium rate phone scams
To report a Premium rate phone scam, you contact the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) to complain about unexpected or expensive fees on your phone bill.
The PSA is the UK regulator for content, goods and services charged to phone bills.
Contact PSA on 0300 303 0020 or visit the PSA website to report malicious charges.
Junk Mail Scams:
Royal Mail deals with these complaints directly. Send a covering letter to: Freepost Scam Mail, PO Box 797, Exeter EX1 9UN. Alternatively, you can also email scam.mail@royalmail.com or call 0345 611 3413.
The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) will remove your name and address from mailing lists. Register for free by calling 0845 703 4599 or visit mpsonline.org.uk.
How can you protect yourself in future from being scammed?
HERE ARE TEN RECOMMENDED ‘PROACTIVE’ STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS!:
- Check online for signs of whether the company is fake.
You can search a company’s details online on GOV.UK. This tells you if the company is registered for purposes of paying tax and indicates legitimacy.
When buying on the internet, check the company’s terms and conditions. Does it look increasingly suspect? Do alarm bells we discussed in ‘recognising a scam‘ start ringing?
One key to note here is whether the company has an SSL Certificate – can you see a green padlock in your browser’s address bar? While not a guarantee you’re dealing with a real company, it usually does mean that there’s an audit trail for financial purposes should you be caught out.
- Don’t click on anything generally when online that you do not trust!
This will prevent you from being infected with any virus or malware on your computer or other IT equipment. Ensure that you are up to date with Antivirus and Anti-malware, with the software registered and up to date.
- Use a password manager to create passwords using randomised input – for each online account.
You can improve the strength of a password considerably in this way. Have a unique one for every website. As part of a comprehensive strategy, this can increase your defences to attack substantially. A password manager contains all your passwords encrypted behind a wall of security. There are many password managers available. For the most up-to-date, google current reviews on sites such as which.co.uk – the consumer protection website.
- Set up two-factor authentication (2FA) when possible.
Rather than having just a single password, 2FA includes a second part of the process. This could be an SMS message to your phone input to prove you’re the owner of the password or biometric recognition such as facial or fingerprint recognition.
- Check with experts whether any of your accounts are at risk of attack.
Examples of this service include haveIbeenpwned.com. This respected site is used to check whether your passwords have been revealed in any global data breach – the site does not store any of the passwords you input. You can change your password to another if you’ve been made vulnerable.
- Check your finances very frequently.
Keeping an eye out for any fraudulent activity, however small, can prevent any interaction from getting messy. As a habit, paying by debit or credit card is a good idea rather than over the telephone, as card payments typically come with an added layer of protection. Also, knowing the techniques that your bank employs to communicate over the phone is a valuable way of enhancing security – and your peace of mind. Check your bank’s website for these details.
- Ensure that you have the correct social media privacy settings for your lifestyle.
If you are sensitive about people knowing your data, avoid putting your contact details and date of birth on social media. Scammers often trawl these details, and just like telephone fraud, try to use them creatively at your cost.
Steps may include making your privacy settings state that only friends and family can see visible posts. In addition, you can choose whether to interact with friend requests and messages as appropriate.
- Use the Telephone Preference Service.
Registering for the Telephone Preference Service (https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/) is a method of stopping unsolicited calls to landlines and mobiles. By reporting nuisance calls and texts, regulators can do their job and bring enforcement teams to action.
- Change your contact details.
If you have been scammed at your cost, Then it is advisable to change your details as they are probably available to other scammers. It might be worthwhile to change all your contact details, including your mobile number and email address.
- Sign up for a scam alert service.
Keeping up to date with what’s happening today is empowering.
There are a few scam alert services online, though contact details vary. Nevertheless, a quick search engine lookup should reveal some of merit.
Trading standards services within the UK allow these on a widespread basis.
Common financial scams are detailed on the Financial Conduct Authority website.
Scammers in operation in your local area are provided through Action Frauds website.
A comprehensive list of all the latest UK scams recorded from AgeUK is available on their website. See https://www.ageuk.org.uk/barnet/our-services/latest-scams/ for further details.
Note from the author:
Being a victim of fraud can be traumatic. However, should you need assistance following a scam for a non-judgemental advice talk, there are numerous advice lines you can call.
Some available include:
MIND:
Mind has a confidential information and support line, Mind Infoline, available on 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9 am – 6 pm, Monday – Friday).
Victim Support:
Victim Support has a free, confidential helpline where you can speak to someone available on 0808 16 89 111 (lines open 24/7).
