People ‘too polite’ to hang up on fraudsters

Criminal gangs tricking ‘even the savviest of people’ into giving money

Impersonation scams have more than doubled, with fraudsters targeting people at home who are “too polite” to hang up. Criminals are tricking “the savviest of people” by posing as NHS workers, police officers, their bank or a delivery company. UK Finance found cases leapt to 33,115 in the first half of the year and 92 per cent of people admitted to saying yes to a request for personal information from a stranger via email or text because they do not want to appear rude.

IMPERSONATION scams have more than doubled with fraudsters targeting Britons stuck at home who were “too polite” to hang up.

Criminal gangs are tricking “even the savviest of people” into transferring thousands of pounds by posing as working for the NHS, a police force, their bank or a delivery company.

A report from UK Finance has disclosed cases have soared to 33,115 in the first half of 2021 with criminals stealing £129.4 million through this fraud alone. In the same period last year, there were 14,947 impersonation scam cases, which led to £57.9million being stolen.

The report also found that 92 per cent of people admitted to saying yes to a request for personal information from a stranger via email or text because they do not want to appear rude.

The range of cover stories used by fraudsters includes claiming they need to protect an account from fraud, that a fine or tax needs to be paid, or that a refund sent by mistake must be returned.

Impersonation scams relating to deliveries especially have surged over the past year due to a boom in online shopping over lockdown, UK Finance explained.

Research for the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign found 19 per cent of people feel uncomfortable saying no to a request for personal information from a stranger via email or text. This rose to 23 per cent when it comes to phone calls.

Using other phrases to avoid saying no, such as “Let me think about it” or “I can’t at the moment”, can give criminals a way in to extend the conversation and increase the likelihood of carrying out the scam.

Peter Henderson, a 64-year-old London-based actor, handed over nearly £3,000 to fraudsters claiming to be from his bank.

In May earlier this year, he received a text message purporting to be from the delivery company Hermes telling him he had to rebook his delivery for a small attached fee. But when Mr Henderson clicked on the attached link, bringing him to a duplicate of Hermes’ website, and filled in his bank details, this gave the criminals unfettered access to his account.

The following evening, he received a phone call claiming to be from Lloyds Bank informing him of “suspicious activity” on his account that needed to be verified. The scammer, pretending to be from the bank’s security team, told him that hundreds of pounds was being stolen from his account.

Lloyds sends a six-digit PIN to confirm or cancel any erroneous payment. But the scammer convinced him to send through this PIN, promising this would cancel the payments. In total, £2,980 was taken from his accounts through this scheme.

Tony Blake, the head of fraud prevention at the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, said: “If someone contacts you unprompted and asks for personal or financial information, stop and take a moment to think – even if they claim to be from an organisation you trust. Only criminals will put pressure on you to act quickly.”

£129.4m The amount fraudsters stole via impersonation rackets in the UK in the first half of 2021