An urgent warning has been issued to households across the UK regarding a dangerous new cost of living scam.
Millions of people throughout the country are struggling to pay for essentials amid the worsening cost of living crisis. Inflation rocketed last month to a 40-year high of 9.4 per cent, and energy bills are forecasted to shoot up from £1,971 to £3,245.
With so many desperate for money, it can be easy to fall victim to scams seeking to empty your bank accounts and steal your personal information. Leading fraud prevention service Cifas has shared a number of current scams targeting households amid the cost of living crisis.
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As reported by the Daily Record, among the most dangerous is one in which fraudsters claim they can help victims retrieve their money from debit card purchases. According to Cifas, criminals use this to steal your personal information and empty your bank account.
The fraud service has urged people to stop and think before sharing personal details online with others, stating: "Remember to Stop, Challenge and Protect before you ever part with your personal and financial information and always talk to your bank if you are in difficulty rather than a third-party offering help on social media.”
HSBC has issued a similar warning to consumers after recently updating its fraud and cyber awareness app. The app, which can be used regardless of whether you are a customer with the bank, offers warnings about the latest scams.
HSBC UK head of fraud David Callington said: "We are able to give real-time warnings through push notifications, information and education, to help more people protect themselves and their hard-earned money from these criminals."
Additionally, the bank shared the three most common scams it observed between November 2021 and April 2022.
Purchase scams
Criminals trick shoppers into pre-paying for goods or services that are never received. This is the most common category of scam according to the HSBC.
The bank revealed that it was seeing a rise in the number of purchase scams relating to vehicles. These include fraudsters sharing fake websites that pledge to look after funds for vehicles purchased abroad.
Shoppers are then persuaded into putting down a deposit or paying for the vehicle outright.
Impersonation scams
Another common type of scam is impersonation scams. These involve criminals impersonating companies, retailers, or banks.
According to HSBC, there has been a rise in the number of scams involving criminals pretending to be from Amazon. There has been a large number of cases involving fraudsters impersonating HSBC.
Investment scams
In most cases, investment scams involve the purchase of fake bonds or cryptocurrency. According to HSBC, the result in larger losses than any other category of scam — with victims losing £14,173 on average.
Investment scams typically begin with a random message or phone call regarding an investment opportunity that is "too good to miss". Victims may then be targeted over a period of months or even years.
HSBC stated that it had observed an increasing number of scams involving trading in legitimate companies but via a fraudulent intermediary. Victims may be shown an app or webpage that lists all of their investments, only for the intermediary to stop contacting them later on.
Head of Fraud Intelligence at Cifas Amber Burridge said: “Criminals continue to use a variety of ways to take advantage of people struggling with the cost of living crisis. The sophistication of cyber-enabled attacks such as phishing and smishing continues to grow, and once criminals obtain someone’s personal and financial details, it’s likely they will be used to facilitate identity fraud, which accounted for over 60% of cases filed to the National Fraud Database last year.”
If you think you have fallen for a scam, contact your bank immediately and report it to Police Scotland by dialling 101.
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