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Criminals are always looking for new ways to try to steal your details and money.
Find out more for the latest type of scams that are common right now, how they work and what you need to know to avoid them.
In a purchase scam, the victim pays in advance for goods or services that are never received, usually ordered on an online platform such as an auction website or social media. Many online platforms offer secure payment options, but fraudsters convince the victim to pay via a bank transfer instead.
Common scams include a criminal posing as the seller of a car or a technology product, such as a phone or computer, which they advertise at a low price to attract buyers. Criminals also advertise items such as fake holiday rentals and concert tickets.
Stop and think:
Protect yourself from purchase scam:
In an investment scam, fraudsters convince their victim to move their money to a fictitious fund or to pay for a fake investment. The fraudsters will usually promise a high return to entice their victim into making the transfer. These scams include investment in items such as gold, property, carbon credits, cryptocurrencies, land banks and wine.
The criminals behind investment scams often use cold calling to target their victim and pressurise them to act quickly by claiming the opportunity is time limited. Adverts on social media usually offering unrealistic returns, and letters are also used heavily in investment scams.
Stop and think:
Protect yourself from investment scam:
In this scam, the criminal contacts the victim purporting to be from the government departments such as Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI), HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC), police or the victim’s bank and convinces the victim to make a payment to an account they control. International students are common targets of this kind of scam.
These scams often begin with a phone call or text message, with the fraudster claiming there has been fraud on the victim’s account, and they need to transfer the money to a ‘safe account’ to protect their funds. Criminals may pose as the police and ask the individual to take part in an undercover operation to investigate ‘fraudulent’ activity at a branch, and threaten to deport them or cancel their visas if the victims do not comply.
The criminal will often research their victim first, including using information gathered from other scams and data breaches to make their approach sound genuine.
Stop and think:
Protect yourself from impersonation scam:
Some scams may take the form of an incoming text or email appearing to have been sent from a legitimate source, such as your bank. The sender may claim that your account has been compromised. They may ask you to click on a link to confirm your details. Alternatively, they will claim a certain person from the bank will contact you to change your account details. Such a message is a scam. You will risk divulging your personal information via the link and the follow-up call is made by the scammer posing as bank staff.
To prevent fraud related to lost or stolen customer identity and account information, you should notify us immediately upon the loss and subsequent replacement of identity documents that were originally submitted for account opening, or if there is suspicion that statements or account details may have been compromised or stolen. Fraud Prevention and Security Tips If you ever receive an OTP (One-Time Password) message which you are not expecting, notify us immediately as it may be a sign of attempted fraud on your account. We will suspend online access to your bank account and carry out thorough investigation. If for any reason, you are unable to contact us, please log in to your UK Cyberbanking and change the PIN immediately.
Please remember:
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