- 79% of people are highly concerned about online scams (Source: Ofcom Experiences of using online services)
- 94% had experience of a scam in the past four weeks and 74% had been the target
- Only 2% informed the police, and 19% took no action
- 20% of those who took no action thought reporting it wouldn’t make any difference while 18% couldn’t be bothered, and 8% didn’t know who to tell
- 88% of people had experienced misleading information online, including financial misinformation in the previous four weeks
- 95% had seen deep fake photos and videos, which have increasingly been a feature of financial scams too
- The latest Financial Lives Survey from the FCA found that 7.5 million adults reported experiencing a fraud or scam related to banking, pensions and/or investments
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, comments:
“It pays to keep your wits about you online, because scams are on the march. Scammers are flooding the internet, and three-quarters of people say they’ve been targeted personally. The criminals are getting more sophisticated too, so their tactics are even harder to spot.
“The Ofcom Online Experiences Tracker showed that scams are so rife that more than nine in ten people had some experience of them online in the previous month, and three-quarters had been the target of at least one. Of course, this is only the scams that people have spotted. There’s a risk that as scammers get more sophisticated, they’ll go completely undetected until it’s too late.
“Investment scammers are harnessing AI, so there have been deep fake videos of financial figures, used to harvest people’s details. Impersonation scammers, meanwhile, are creating fake phone or video calls to convince their victims they’re speaking to someone legitimate.
“We’ve also seen the proliferation of misinformation, especially across social media. It’s widespread across everything from politics to health, but also covers money content. There’s no shortage of posts from young people showing off their luxury lifestyles and promising to sell you the secrets of how to make a fortune – or the bogus investments they claim to use. In reality, the trappings of wealth are often rented, and the only money they’re making is from scamming people.
Concerns
“The older people are, the more worried they are about scams, with 77% of those aged 65 and over showing the highest possible level of concern, compared to 52% of those aged 35-54 and 44% of those aged 18-34. Women are also more likely to be alarmed by scams – at 63% compared to 54% of men. It seems they have every reason to be worried, given that the vast majority of people have been targeted by scams.
“Given the level of concern, it’s initially surprising that so few people do anything about it. Almost one in five people have done nothing at all about the scams they’ve been targeted with. Of those who did nothing, one in five said they didn’t think that reporting it would make the slightest difference, and another one in five said they couldn’t be bothered. Meanwhile almost one in ten people didn’t know who to tell.
“If you’ve been the victim of a scam, it’s essential to report it on the Action Fraud website. They can get a broader picture of what’s going on and take steps to shut the scammers down. You should also contact your bank’s fraud department if you have shared any details, so they can take help protect your accounts.
Protect yourself
“The best way to shield yourself is to be aware of the kinds of scams doing the rounds, so you can stay alert. There are a huge variety of different ones out there, but they’re essentially designed either to get you to hand over personal details, or to pay the criminals direct. Some operate via phone calls, video calls or text messages, but a huge number of them operate online – most commonly by sending emails, through social media, or by advertising non-existent or bogus goods on sales platforms.
“Some will use impersonation fraud, where they pretend to be someone you trust – from your bank to your family, in order to persuade you to part with personal details or money. There are also invoice scams, where you’re sent a fake invoice in order to get information out of you, and advance payment scams designed to make you hand over cash in the hope of getting a larger sum later. Investment fraud scams, meanwhile, will use high pressure tactics to persuade people to invest in things that are either very high risk, doomed to fail or completely non-existent.”
Five steps to stay safe
- Be sceptical about any unsolicited emails relating to your finances. If someone is claiming to be your bank, for example, cut contact with them and then get in touch with your bank on a number you can be sure is legitimate. It makes sense to assume something is a scam until it’s proved otherwise.
- Check the sender or the web address. Is this someone who might reasonably be getting in touch with you? Is it the right email address for the business? If it’s a website, is the address spelled properly? Look for hidden double letters, missing letters and typos.
- Ask yourself if it shows any of the tell-tale signs of a scam – are you being put under pressure to act fast? Does the offer look too good to be true? Have they made you afraid of something? Have they asked you to make an up-front payment with the promise of something later? All of these should ring alarm bells.
- Think before you click on links in emails or messages or on adverts online. They can take you direct to a scammer. If you think the link is being sent from a legitimate organisation, contact them separately and ask if they’re trying to get in touch.
- Think about the information you’re putting online, and whether you’re making the most of privacy settings on social media. Are you making it too easy for fraudsters to target you and win your trust with information in the public domain?