Beware screen-sharing scammers
Screen-sharing scam cases have surged, with one victim losing more than £48,000, the City regulator has warned.
Sharing your screen without making the proper checks can “change everything in an instant”, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.
More than £25m was lost to such scams between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, with victims ranging from 18 to over 70, the FCA said.
The number of screen-sharing scam cases has jumped by 86% when comparing July to December 2020 with the same period in 2021, it added.
In one case seen by the FCA, a 59-year-old woman lost £48,000 as scammers used screen-sharing software to take over her computer and access her banking history.
She was persuaded to download remote desktop software to secure an investment – and lost the money while scammers accessed her banking details, her pension and applied for loans on her behalf. She clicked on an advert for bitcoin and received a call from people claiming to be financial advisers.
Offering to complete the first investment for her, they asked her to download remote technology, which gave the scammers open access to all the financial details on her computer.
Her case is among thousands the FCA has received to its consumer helpline (0800 111 6768).
The FCA also surveyed 2,000 people and found just over half (51%) of would-be investors would check if a company appears on its “warning list” when deciding if an investment opportunity is legitimate.
While 91% said they would never share their pin with a stranger, 85% of these people would not think a request by a website to use or download software was a warning sign someone was seeking to gain illegal access to personal information on their device.
Some 88% would check if their investments were offered or sold by FCA firms, but 10% of these people would trust their “gut instinct” with an investment opportunity from someone they did not know without fully checking, such as ensuring the firm or the promotion is properly authorised.
Anyone dealing with an unauthorised firm will not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.
Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Investment scams can happen over many months, but sharing your screen without making the proper checks can change everything in an instant. Once scammers gain access to your screen, they have complete control.
“That means access to your sensitive banking and investment information, the freedom to browse at their leisure, and the ability to take whatever details they want.
“It can affect any investor, no matter how experienced. It’s incredibly difficult to get money back once lost in this way, but there are ways to protect yourself: don’t share your screen with anyone, as legitimate firms will not ask you to do this, and check out our Scamsmart website for advice on how to avoid being scammed.”`