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PLANNING FOR LATER LIFE 121
scam OLD SCHOOL
With an ever-increasing use of the
internet and scammers getting more and more sophisticated, cons are rarely out of the news – and it’s often the most vulnerable in society who fall victim
F
raud costs people here in the UK billions every year. With our lives now dominated by an online environment where we do everything from banking
to shopping on our connected devices, the unscrupulous have been more sophisticated in their approach. It’s difficult to know whom to trust nowadays – the faceless phisher is as much a swindler as the rogue trader on our doorstep. Modern technology means scam letters can be mass-produced and made to look like personal letters or important documents, in the hope of tricking the recipient into sending cash, making money transfers or disclosing personal information such as bank details. The important thing to remember, always, is that the more incredible something seems, the greater the chance of its being a con!
The most common types of fraud include: TELEPHONE SCAMS
Scammers call random numbers to locate an elderly person and trick them into giving their bank/credit card details or wiring money somewhere because: • A stranded ‘friend’ or relative needs cash urgently.
• The police, bank or credit card company ‘need’ your bank details.
• You’re due a repayment from a mis-sold product and they’ll help – for a fee. • You’ve received a prize (e.g. a holiday) or won a lottery and you must call a (costly) number to ‘claim’ your (worthless) prize. • You must sell ‘underperforming’ shares and invest in their (fraudulent) schemes.
INTERNET AND EMAIL FRAUD • Fraudsters spread viruses or gain access to your details via email links or phishing scams. If you are ‘phished’ you receive an email,
IT IS THE ELDERLY & VULNERABLE WHO
ARE SYSTEMATICALLY TARGETED BY SCAMMERS
supposedly from your bank, requesting confirmation of your details and password. Once given they will empty your account. • Never click on a link provided by an unknown sender. If you know the sender but the email subject and links look odd this person’s email account has probably been hacked. Delete it immediately and tell your friend. Be careful when buying goods online, too.
Top types of scams
• EmAIl • TElEPhONE • ONlINE • POsTAl • DOOrsTEP • ONlINE DATINg • mOBIlEs • PPI • ClAIrvOYANT • CATAlOguE AND BrOChurE • DEBT rECOvErY • BETTINg • PArCEl DElIvErY & COurIEr
LOTTERY AND PRIZE DRAW SCAMS • Two of the most common scams are lottery and prize draw scams where victims are told they have won a large cash prize, but are asked to send some sort of fee to release it. • No genuine lottery or
competition would ask you to send money to claim a prize.
DOORSTEP ‘SALESMEN’ • Beware of people knocking on your door selling products you don’t need or ‘free’ home renovations. Nothing is ever free – once work is underway they’ll spot ‘underlying damage’ that needs repairing, at a hugely inflated price.
Steve Rock, Head of Kent’s Trading Standards, recently said: “Scams are an ongoing and increasing problem for our communities, causing somewhere between £5-£10 billion in consumer detriment each year.
“Anyone can be the victim of a scam yet it is the elderly and vulnerable who are systematically targeted by scammers. “Scams come in many forms from fake websites, to phishing emails, from bogus prize draws and unwanted telephone sales, to doorstep rogue traders, all are designed to get as much money as possible into the criminals pockets, and, once they have identified a victim, keep doing it until the money runs out.”
STAYING SAFE
• Always be wary of spam post and emails, people who visit unannounced and people who call saying they are police or bank staff. • If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Never give out your security details. Information like your card pin, One Time Passcode (OTP), password or security numbers are personal to you and shouldn’t be shared with anyone – not even your bank. • Never transfer money out of your account
Image licensed by Ingram Image
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