Staying safe and secure
FIVE-MINUTE GUIDE TO... CROOKS CASHING IN ON UNCERTAINTY
FRAUDSTERS are descending to new levels of heartlessness as they exploit the coronavirus panic to trick unwary
Britons out of their money.
They are preying on people’s anxieties by offering to help people seek reimbursement for cancelled holidays, claim tax refunds from HM Revenue & Customs or make donations to help Covid-19 victims.
Scammers are tricking people into disclosing personal information by posing as legitimate bank, police and health officials, or sending fake messages from reputable bodies such as theworld Health Organisation or even local GPS.
Some are selling phoney goods, with one victim talked into spending £15,000 on face masks that never arrived.
Huge sums are at stake, with the average pension scam victim losing £82,000 last year, and the authorities are struggling to keep up.
Andy Agathangelou, founder of campaign group the Transparency Task Force, said: “More must be done to protect pension savers from sophisticated scammers and help those who have been scammed.”
Consumer championwhich? has accused banks of failing customers by refusing to compensate victims of authorised push payment fraud, where scammers pose as trusted organisations such as a bank or solicitor, and have tricked people out of more than £1 billion in just three years.
Which? is calling for mandatory transfer scam protection as banks drag their feet on introducing a simple system of checking names on bank transfers that could cut losses by a third.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has directed the six biggest banking groups to sign up by March 31, but Which? said all banks must join.
Lloyds Banking Group is on track, along with subsidiaries Halifax and Bank of Scotland, but Royal Bank of Scotland, Natwest and Ulster Bank, as well as
HSBC and First Direct, still cannot confirm a target date, it said.
Which? head of money Gareth Shaw said it is vital for all banks to commit to basic name-check security: “If the banks fall short, these initiatives must be made mandatory by the Government.”
The banking industry said it stopped more than £1.8 billion fraud in 2019, but Britons still lost £824.8 million to unauthorised card, remote banking and cheque fraud.
Push payment fraud losses rose to
£456 million, with compensation totalling £41 million under a voluntary code introduced last May.
UK Finance’s managing director of economic crime, Katy Worobec, urged the public to stop and think before parting with any money or personal information: “It is okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.”
Contact your bank immediately if you suspect a scam and report it to Action Fraud, she added.
TSB is so far the only bank to guarantee its customers that every genuine victim will have their losses returned. Head of fraud Ashley Hart said: “We ensure that all innocent victims can get their lives back on track again.”
He said do not click on any links in text messages: “Do not be afraid to put the phone down if you cannot verify a caller.”
Shieldpay chief executive Peter Janes said victims have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds: “These sums are life-changing and the banking industry has to do more to protect people.”