Millions of households across the country are keeping a close eye on their spending this year in an effort to stick to a budget and stay one step ahead of the ongoing cost of living crisis. However, financial pressure can make people vulnerable to scammers offering fake deals, goods or refunds which turn out to be clever ploys to obtain personal details and gain access to bank or savings accounts.
New research suggests that every year, 40 million people in the UK are targeted by criminal gangs, with victims losing an estimated £1.3 billion in 2021 to frauds and scams. Common delivery methods used by cybercriminals include email or texts, with 50,015 reports of phishing emails reported in 2022 alone.
Unfortunately, scams are becoming more sophisticated - and more common. In the first half of 2022, criminals stole a staggering £609.9 million from consumers via both authorised and unauthorised fraud and scams.
