Money Week - UK (2021-10-08)

MONEYWEEK 8October 2021 moneyweek.com

Fraudsters are becoming more inventive as the world goes online

Hang up on scams

allsoaredinthepandemic.Twothings

helpedmeidentifymytextasfraudulent

First,thephonenumberwasnot

official.Genuinecompaniescanshow

uponyourphonenotasanumber

butasaname.Acompany’srealname

willbeofficiallyregisteredandthus

legitimate,butscammersoftencreate

convincingnamesthatcloselyresemble

therealone:dpdIrelandinsteadofDPD,

forinstance.Ifyouarecontactedbya

mobilenumber,checkthecompany’s

websitetoascertainwhattheirofficial

contactnumberis.Websitesshouldalso

makeclearhowthefirmwillcontactyou

Second,thewebsiteaddressit

wasencouragingmetoclickonwas

differentfromtherealHermeswebsite

(hermes.trackingasopposedtothereal

myhermes.co.uk).AGooglesearchwill

revealacompany’strueaddress.Bear

inmindtoothatonlycriminalswill

pressureyoutoactquickly.Ifyou’rebeing

badgeredonthephone,hangup.

Ifyouthinkyouhavebeenavictim

offraud,contactyourbankatonce.

Thefasteryoureportascam,themore

likelyitisthatyourbankwillbeable

toeitherstopthetransactionorrecover

themoney.Anti-fraudmeasuresusedby

banksstopped£ 32 moffraudbetween

JanuaryandJune 202 1.Meanwhile,note

thatStopScamsUKandtheGlobalCyber

Alliancehavelaunchedthe 159 pilot

scheme,anewfraudhotlinethatwilllet

youcheckwhetheracallfromyourbank

isgenuine.Youcancall 159 ifsomeone

contactsyousayingthey’refromyour

bank,evenifyoudon’thavereasonto

believethecallissuspicious.Itisrunning

asapilotschemeforayear.Participating

banksare Barclays,Lloyds, NatWest,

SantanderandStarlingBank. And

remember thegoldenrule: withholding

personal informationuntilyouhave

checkednames ornumbersthrough a

sourceyouknowislegitimateisthebest

waytoavoid ascam.

A

fortnightagoIreceivedatext froman
unknownnumbersayingIhadaparcel
fromHermes withanoutstandingdelivery
fee. If Ididn’tpaythroughtheHermes link
in thetext, myparcelwouldbereturnedto
thesender.Thattextwas ascam.
Thetradeassociationforthebanking
andfinancialservicessector, UKFinance,
notesinits half-yearreportfor 2021that
criminalsstoleatotal of £753.9m,a30%
increase comparedto thesameperiodin
2020 .Authorisedpush payment(APP)
fraud, wherecriminalstrickcustomers
into authorisingapayment to themusing
tacticssuchasphonecalls, text messages
andemails, fakewebsitesandsocialmedia
posts,sawan increase of 71%.APPisatype
of impersonationscam,wherecriminals
pretendtobesomeoneelse,inthese cases
legitimate firmssuchasRoyal Mail or
institutions suchas theNHS.
It’s notonlycouriers. Fraudsters will
alsopretend tobefromyourbank,often
claimingtheyneedto protectanaccount
fromfraud, orthepolice, insistingafine
bepaid.Sometimes crooks will claim
to represent afraudpreventionservice.
This typeof heist is growingrapidlyas
fraudsters exploitourlifestyle changes.
Online shoppingandpayments have

Discover the storyofpaper

http://www.lovepaper.org

®

Love PaperisaregisteredtrademarkforTwo Sides Ltd.RegisteredintheUK,U.S.andother countries and used with permission.

Source: Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), 2018

CEPIrepresents 92%of Europeanpulp and paper production

60% of the energy used to produce

paper and paper packaging in Europe

comes from renewable sources.

©iSt

ockp

hotos

NicoleGarcíaMérida

Writer&editor

Alwayscheckafirm’sofficialcontactnumber

30 Personalfinance