Lloyds Bank has issued an urgent warning to all banking customers following a new report which indicates that the number of ‘advance fee’ scams has surged over the last 12 months. These are scams which involve people being asked to pay fees upfront for goods or services such as loans that never materialise.
The number of ‘advance fee’ frauds reported to Lloyds Banking Group by customers jumped by 82 per cent across 2022, compared with 2021. People with a poor credit history may be particularly likely to be targeted as households continue to feel the squeeze from cost of living pressures in the first few months of the new year.
The average amount lost by victims in 2022 was £711, lower than an average of £1,194 in 2021, suggesting fraudsters may be pursuing a higher volume of lower value scams in the current economic environment.
