Alice Beer explains the five scams you need to look out for
Scammers are constantly looking for new ways to deceive victims and it’s important to be aware of the latest tactics, whether that’s new technologies, phishing attacks or even psychological tactics on the more vulnerable.
TEXT MESSAGE SCAMS
New statistics say that 37% of people receive at least one scam message every week. If you think you have never received a scam text then perhaps you just don’t realise that you have. If you’re not used to spotting them then you’re more likely to become a victim. The new ones are particularly aimed at elderly or vulnerable people.
A new text message scam is preying on concerns surrounding winter heating subsidies, exploiting recent government cuts to target vulnerable individuals. As well as another text scam doing the rounds claiming to be from the “British Government Living Expenses Subsidy Scheme.”
The text claims to be from the “UK Government Living Allowance Office”, luring recipients with promises of a fabricated winter heating subsidy and includes a malicious link to a fake government websites
BANK PHISHING ALERTSThere are two banking alerts doing the rounds, concerning Lloyds and Nationwide.
Scammers famously like to target elderly people and 80% of elderly people have landlines - meaning that they’re likely to get a friendly or vulnerable senior on the other end of the phone.
While just two-thirds of households now have a landline, new research has found that more than half of landline calls are made by scammers.
Three in five landline owners say that they now receive more fraudulent calls than legitimate ones
STAYING VIGILANT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
According to Action Fraud (Oct, 24), around 33,600 people reported that their online accounts had been hacked since August last year, with victims losing a total of £1.4 million.
By using the web, fraudsters can imitate legitimate companies, place ads for non-existent goods and services or even pose as a friend or relative in distress.
Fake personas are hard to police due to the sheer number of users. There are around 44.8 million Facebook users in the UK alone and around 3 billion worldwide
Remember, if anything is free - you are the cost! Social media offers fraudsters valuable insight into the lives of their would-be victims, through posts, photos and comments. If it’s not money motivated, it’s likely that it’s motivated by data.
FAKE SOCIAL MEDIA GIVEAWAYS
Which? have warned against fraudsters sharing fake product giveaways in a bid to steal personal data.These usually appear disguised as posts asking you to complete surveys in exchange for ‘free products.’
These scams will typically ask you to answer questions about your shopping habits as part of a‘promotion’, you’ll then be asked to hand over personal data in order to receive the non-existent free gift.
Recent examples offer ‘free Monster Energy sample gift box’ or ‘an iPhone 14 for just £3’
ONLINE QUIZZES
Before you take the fun-looking quiz that’s popped up in your social media feed, think twice before you find out ‘what’s your spooky halloween name?’ or ‘what wrestler are you?’+ Social media quizzes can often be scams that collect personal information to commit identity theft or fraud. These little bits of information are important pieces in a larger jigsaw that is your overall identity.
How to avoid them? Simply put - don’t take quizzes and surveys online.
As Black Friday and Christmas approaches, more people than ever turn to the internet to bag a bargain. Parcel delivery company, Evri, has this week warned of a surge in scamming incidents, reporting a four-fold rise and 12,000 fake sites being taken down.+ Evri have issued core advice on what to look out for.
Language: poor language and badly written messages
Lack of: lack of a personal greeting or lack of personal information such as a tracking order number and delivery address.
Links: unusual links or buttons that urge customers to take action, such as to pay a re-delivery fee, this isn’t something they would ever charge for.
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOUR DATA AND ACCOUNTS CLEAN?
HaveIBeenPwned.com: Have I Been Pwned allows you to search across multiple data breaches to see if your email address or phone number has been compromised.
Check statements: Make sure you recognise the transactions on your account, no matter how little they might be.
Clear cookies and history regularly: Clearing your accounts can help protect from unauthorised access.