‘CRIMINALS ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT’

Tony Sales was once dubbed ‘Britain’s greatest fraudster’ after fleecing nearly

£30 million from banks, jewellers, and even stealing a superyacht. He also conducted elaborate cyber crimes, using hackers to obtain personal details of online shoppers. Now reformed, Tony is the head of strategic development at wefightfraud.org. He says: ‘Contrary to what a lot of people think, criminals are highly intelligent and knowledgeable about the type of people they’re trying to scam. Usually targeting people who aren’t tech savvy, they will pose as websites, banks, parcel courier companies or even HMRC. Here’s how to wise-up to potential scams… STOP! Don’t give out any information over the phone or email. Find legitimate contact details for the company and contact them yourself.

REPORT SUSPICIOUS MESSAGES Scams evolve over time to ensure people keep falling for them, from strangers-in-need emails asking people to send them money to ‘Hi Mum!’ Whatsapp messages. Police are unable to crack down on scammers if they’re not reported. STAY VIGILANT Don’t be sucked in by sellers on Facebook or ebay promising high-value goods at discount prices. At best, fake goods will show up, and at worst, nothing will show up at all.

DON’T SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION Scammers only need small bits of information to gain your trust – such as your maiden name, or the date you got married – be careful what you post online and keep privacy settings updated.

AND FINALLY... If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.