Whether it’s a dodgy text from a ‘delivery’ company, someone you’ve matched with online now asking to borrow money, or someone calling you out of the blue claiming to be from your bank – criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations or the police.
Here at Take Five, we’re working to raise awareness amongst people who speak English as a second language (ESL) about fraud and scams, and the steps they can take to protect themselves.
Recent insight
Our recent survey found that three quarters (73%) of people who speak English as a second language say criminals have tried to trick them into sharing financial or personal information in 2024.
The research also found that while most people surveyed were aware of the risks of fraud, they were not all aware of where it most commonly occurs. Less than half (48%) of those who speak English as a second language believe criminals would use messages or posts on social media to trick people into sending them money. However UK Finance figures show that nearly three quarters (72%) of all authorised push payment fraud cases are enabled by online sources.
Raising awareness
To help support those with English as a second language, Take Five has translated its ‘Stop, Challenge and Protect’ advice into Urdu and Punjabi, and developed a flyer that is available on our website for any supporters to use. Urdu and Punjabi were selected as they are two of the most-widely spoken foreign languages in the UK.
We have also reached out to a range of targeted media outlets to promote Take Five’s advice to ESL communities.
“Fraud causes serious harm to society and severe financial and psychological harm to victims. It’s important that everyone knows the steps to take to protect themselves from these awful crimes.
“This is why Take Five is reaching out to people who speak English as second language or know of a friend of family member who does. Always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to stop, challenge and protect to help keep yourself safe.” – Paul Maskall, Take Five to Stop Fraud
Our advice
Criminals may try to deceive you into making payments to them. They may also try to trick you into sharing your information with them – such as your name, date of birth, address, bank account details, passwords or passcodes.
It can be difficult to tell whether something is a scam, and criminals are experts at creating fake scenarios to gain your trust – or get you to let your guard down.
To protect yourself from scams, we encourage you to follow the advice of the ‘Take Five to Stop Fraud’ campaign:
- Stop: Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information. It could keep you safe.
- Challenge: Ask yourself, could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve been scammed and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0330 123 2040.
Get involved
With over £3 million stolen every day through fraud in the first half of 2024, it is essential that everyone feels equipped to protect themselves from fraud.
If you want to help raise awareness, please make use of our range of freely available resources: https://www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/toolkit/. Here you will also find our Urdu and Punjabi flyers.
And if you’d like to get in touch, please contact us at: takefive@ukfinance.org.uk.
