Against scammers
THERE’S nothing worse than having to tell people they’ve been tricked out of their life savings – and there’s very little that can be done about it.
Just last week, I spoke to a lady who’d been robbed as part of a telephone ‘vishing’ scam. She’d lost £80,000. The week before, I’d spoken to a business that had been fooled in to transferring £200,000 to a fraudster.
You might think these sums are extraordinary, but I’m sorry to say that they’re increasingly common.
Millions of pounds have already been stolen by fraudsters as a result of a new generation of scams.
The best way we can all fight back is by staying informed. Not just updating your own knowledge, but by speaking to older or more vulnerable friends, neighbours and relatives who – along with younger people – are disproportionately targeted by the scammers.
Here’s my quick guide to the fraudster’s favourite tricks doing the rounds at the moment. Sorry about the ‘vishing’ and ‘smishing’ business – I didn’t make those terms up!
VISHING: The fraudster calls you and pretends to be from your bank – or impersonates an authority figure such as a police officer.
You are told your account has been compromised and need to transfer your cash to a new account which is actually the fraudster’s.
The fraudster tells you to call the number on your bank card but stays on the line when you hang up. If you don’t check for a dialling tone they then pretend to be the bank and take your money.
SMISHING: This method of fraud targets online banking. The fraudster uses a cheap bit of technology that means they can impersonate your bank’s number.
They ask for your online banking passwords or codes and trick you into giving them what they need to access your account. Then they get you to transfer money or pinch it themselves.
COURIER fraud: This kind of fraud works in the same way as vishing. Only the fraudster tells you that they will send a courier to collect your bank card after getting your details.
In the worst examples, people are told their local bank staff are the fraudsters and are made to go in and transfer the money out, ignoring the cashier’s warnings.
SOLICITOR/ BUSINESS fraud: This scam targets solicitors handling big transactions or mortgage payments or businesses. It works in the same way as the others, but the sums are huge. I’ve seen £350,000 tricked out of one business!
EMAIL fraud/fake site fraud: We’ve all seen those dodgy emails that used to do the rounds asking for your details. Well now they’re very, very convincing.
Don’t forget the golden rule: No bank will ever ask you to hand over your personal passwords or details – and they’ll never ask you to transfer money out either. Be sceptical, think before you click and if you think you’ve been tricked get in touch with the business asap.
If you’ve been a victim of fraud, please do report it. Action Fraud are the people to contact.
Some fraudsters have been caught, though there’s often little money left. But by reporting these appalling thieves, you can help make life much harder for them.
GET in touch if you’ve got a story to share: yourstories@ resolver.co.uk
MAKE a complaint at resolver.co.uk or talk to us at @resolver.co.uk or facebook/ Beware: email scammers may request your bank passwords