Black Friday is widely seen as a great opportunity to score deals on expensive electrical goods and designer items, or to finally purchase that expensive footwear you’ve had your eye on for a while at a discounted price. However, it is also many criminals’ favourite time of the year to trick people into purchasing things … Continued

With more customers likely to shop online on Black Friday due to social distancing restrictions, UK Finance urges the public to be on the lookout for online scams. Latest intelligence suggests a recent rise in purchase scams on Christmas gifts and home improvement products, as more people stay at home and shop online. Consumers should … Continued

Unauthorised fraud fell by eight per cent to £374.3 million in first half of 2020, as the banking industry prevented £853 million of losses. Criminals are exploiting and adapting to Covid-19 with a rise in online data harvesting and a fall in cheque and contactless card fraud. £207.8 million was lost to Authorised Push Payment (APP) … Continued

Almost 15,000 impersonation scam cases reported in the first half of 2020, up 84 per cent compared to the same period last year £58 million lost to impersonation scams in January to June 2020, up three per cent on the previous year Public urged to beware of criminals exploiting Covid-19 to impersonate the police, banks, … Continued

Bank branch staff stopped £19 million of fraud in the first half of 2020 through the Banking Protocol, a scheme that alerts local police to suspected scams. The scheme has prevented victims from losing £116 million of fraud and led to 744 arrests since it was introduced three years ago. A range of scams that … Continued

UK Finance unveils ten Covid-19 and lockdown scams the public should be on high alert for and how to spot them Criminals are preying on a worried public by tapping into their financial concerns due to coronavirus, asking for personal and financial information New animation video from Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign warns people … Continued

Consumers are being urged to be on the lookout for holiday scams including fake caravan and motorhome listings, refund offers and travel deals, as criminals take advantage of uncertainty around coronavirus travel restrictions and cancellations to target their victims and commit fraud. With many people looking to book their summer breaks when lockdown ends, the … Continued

Criminals will often use the publicity around events such as the Easyjet cyber attack as a chance to pose as a genuine organisation, which could include the impersonating of banks and police officers. Often the criminal will pretend to be from the impacted company, or claim they are dealing with an issue as a result. … Continued

UK Finance is warning consumers to be on the lookout for “smishing” text message scams from criminals exploiting the coronavirus outbreak. Smishing is when criminals use text messages impersonating other organisations to trick people into giving away their personal and financial information or money. These scam texts often claim to be from government departments, banks … Continued

Dating scams tops the list of criminal tactics people would be embarrassed to talk about, followed by online, investment and phone scams Less than half of people would tell their friend if they fell for a scam, and fewer than one in five would tell a colleague, boss or a neighbour 27 banks and building … Continued