From advice service MoneyHelper
Fraud and scams awareness
Scams can come in many forms, but all are designed to get hold of your money. They do this by getting you to reveal your personal details, stealing your information, or even tricking you into willingly handing over the cash.
It’s important to know how to recognise a scam so you can protect yourself from fraudsters, and what to do if you think you’ve been targeted or have fallen victim.
Scams can come in many different guises so it’s important to know the warning signs to look out for and what to do if you have, or think, you’ve been targeted. No one thinks they’ll be caught out by a scam, but it happens more than you’d think.
Phishing - This is an email scam where it appears you have a message from a legitimate source, such as HMRC, PayPal, Apple or Amazon. You will be encouraged to click a link and log into your account, often by telling you your account has been locked or frozen or there's a large transfer of money. In reality, the link in the email takes you to a fake website which takes your information.
There are two main ways to spot a phishing scam:
- Look at how you are addressed in the email. Scammers tend to use a general greeting such as Dear Sir, Dear Madam or Dear Customer. Legitimate emails will use your name.
- The email address the message has been sent from. Open the email and expand the pane at the top of the message and look at the email it was sent from. If it’s a real message, it will come from a recognisable address – such as ‘noreply@bank.com’
Vishing - This is when scammers call and pretend to be from your bank, building society or even a government agency. During the phone call, the fraudsters will attempt to get you to reveal your personal details, or even to transfer money out of your bank account. Scammers may use the method of ‘number spoofing’ while doing this. Number spoofing usually involves the scammer changing their caller ID when making a phone call.
It’s very difficult to spot. The big tip-off is that the caller will be desperately trying to get you to reveal your information, which no legitimate caller would ask you to do.
- If you’re sure the call is fraudulent, just hang up the phone.
- If you’re not sure, hang up the phone and call your bank/building society on the number on your debit or credit card.
- This means you can be sure you’re going to the right people. And if there is a problem, they can tell you about it.
- But be careful. Scammers can hijack your phone line. So when you hang up, wait a few minutes before calling your bank or building society or use a different phone.
Romance fraud - Some fraudsters will connect with you on a dating website using a fake profile. They’ll be up-front about living overseas and will email you, getting to know you over time and becoming affectionate and romantic.
How to spot it:
- When you’ve become involved, they’ll start asking for money for a sick relative or for a plane ticket to come and visit. They’ll take your money but never appear.
Safe account scams - You’ll be contacted, usually on the phone by someone claiming to be from your bank’s fraud department, the police or a regulatory body such as the FCA. They’ll say your account has been compromised in some way and encourage you to transfer all your money from your bank to a ‘safe account’ they control. Never give out your bank account, PIN numbers or credit card details unless you are certain who you are dealing with.
How to spot it:
- It can be very difficult as the scammers play on your fears about people illegally accessing your money.
- But the easiest thing to remember is banks will never ask you to transfer money into a ‘safe account'.
- If your account has been hacked, your bank will be able to stop money coming out of it very quickly and there would be no point in transferring your money to a different bank account.
- If you’ve been contacted on the phone, just hang up. And if you’re worried about your account security, call your bank directly.
Smishing - These are text message-based scams. Scammers will contact you claiming to be from your bank, saying you need to update your personal details or that there’s an issue. The text might contain a link, like a phishing scam or a phone number to call. The phone number is fake and when you call the fraudsters will attempt to get you to reveal your details.
How to spot it:
- One giveaway might be the phone number in the text is not the same as the one on your credit or debit card.
- If scammers spoof the number, it might appear very legitimate, even dropping into an existing text message chain.
- If in doubt, call the number on your card and find out if they have tried to contact you.
- Don’t click any links in text messages. Always go directly to the website and log in as normal.
Pharming - This is similar to phishing, but instead of sending you an email directly, the scammers target the website you’re visiting. You type in the correct website address, but you then get directed to a fake version, where you inadvertently put in your login details and secure information.
To spot it you need to be very observant. As you’ve entered the correct web address, you would naturally assume you’ve gone to the real website. Scammers have also designed these fake websites to look just like the real thing.
- Look at the website address. It won’t show up as you’re expecting, but as a selection of numbers. Or perhaps something similar to the real name, but with letters switched around or a different spelling.
- Be observant when you’re logging into or visiting websites and look out for suspicious website addresses.
- It’s also important to keep your operating system and anti-virus software up to date.
More information
For tips and guidance on how to spot other types of fraud visit MoneyHelper's scam page.
Report scams to the FCA or Action Fraud.
If you’re concerned, call MoneyHelper’s Financial Crimes and Scams Unit on 0800 015 4402.
Call the emergency hotline on 159 and you will be connected to your bank’s fraud department. This is a quick and easy way to make sure a call is genuine and avoid being scammed. Find out more about this service and which banks are involved at StopScamsUK.