Types of scams

Scammers take advantage of people looking for partners on dating websites, apps, or social media sites. They can play on your emotions to get money, expensive gifts, or your financial information.

Be aware of someone:

• Having strong feelings for you after a few messages.
• Asking lots of personal questions.
• Always having an excuse for why they can’t meet you in person.
• Saying they are having some problems and then asking you to send some money to help.
• Playing on your emotions to keep asking for more money or gifts.

Stay protected:

• Always check if their profile matches what they tell you about them.
• Don’t send money to someone you’ve only met online or have never met in person.
• Never give personal or financial details and documents to anyone you don’t know.

Scammers may pretend to be from your bank, building society or the police. They may say that there is an issue with your bank account when there isn’t.

Their aim is to trick you into giving them money by reassuring you that you’ll be paid back. They may send someone such as a courier to collect the money or goods or ask you to transfer money electronically.

Things to be aware of:

• Claims the issue involves the police, government, or employees from your bank or building society.
• Being asked to withdraw money, buy something expensive, or give bank details over the phone.
• Someone asking you to transfer money into a ‘safe account’ or telling you that one has been set up in your name.
• Being told not to tell anyone about the call.

Stay protected:

• Put the phone down if you get an unexpected call from the police, your bank or building society asking for personal information. It’s a good idea to ring the police using 101 or ring your bank or building society back. You can contact us on 03450 50 50 75 if you think you’re a victim of fraud.
• Never hand money or items over after an unexpected phone call.
• Never share your personal details with anyone. Your bank or building society will never ask you to tell them your PIN number.

Scammers may ask you to invest in something. This can include shares and cryptocurrency. They may promise you a high return on your money or tax-free benefits, but they’re normally not worth much, if anything.

Be aware of:

• Getting an unexpected call, email or private message about an investment opportunity.
• An ask to act urgently, such as someone saying the offer is available for a limited time only.
• Not being told the risks of the investment.
• Being told to not tell anyone, as the offer is only for you.

Stay protected:

• Never make any financial decisions without a lot of thought.
• Only take advice from businesses and organisations registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find more fraud information on their website.

Scammers may knock on your door and try to do a service for you, such as a home repair or window replacements. They’ll either do a bad job, or not show up.

Be aware of:

• People telling you your home needs urgent repairs that need doing now.
• Being pressured into getting the work done.
• Workers asking for money to be paid upfront.

Stay protected:

• Get a second opinion on any work.
• Always verify the identity of the tradesperson.
• Don’t hand any money over before the work is done.
• Put up a ‘no cold calling’ sticker on your door.

If you think you’ve been tricked by a rogue trader, you should report it to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06, or contact the police on 101.

Scammers can try and get you to invest in high-end properties. They’ll show you details, documents and contracts – most of the time, these will be fake. The documents may be filled with confusing words to make the scam seem more professional.

Be aware of:

• Random investment opportunities.
• Promises of high returns on money.

Stay protected:

• Never invest without thinking it through. You might want to talk to a legal or financial advisor.
• Never share sensitive personal or financial information without making sure the person or company is real.
• Be cautious when asked to transfer money directly to a bank account for an investment.

Unlicensed money lenders may offer quick loans with misleading interest rates. This traps borrowers in a cycle of debt. Protect yourself by only borrowing from authorised and regulated lenders.

Be aware of:

• Cold calls from loan companies.
• Lenders who use complex language.

Stay protected:

• Be wary of companies offering quick and easy cash, without checking your credit history.
• Read and understand loan agreements before signing.

Scammers will contact you and offer you lots of money, like saying you have won the lottery or have inherited money. They’ll ask you to pay a small fee to get the money. Once you’ve paid the money, it’s likely you won’t hear from them again.

Be aware of:

• Offers that sound too good to be true.
• A pressure to act quickly
• Callers telling you that the offer is only for you and you shouldn’t tell anyone.
• If someone is telling you that you’ve won money in a lottery that you haven’t entered, as it’s likely to be a scam.

Stay protected:

• Never send money to a company to claim a prize.

Scammers can use your account to move their stolen or illegally obtained money. You would be known as a 'money mule' if you allow someone to use your account in this way.

Be aware of:

• Job adverts offering a chance to earn lots of money for a few hours of work per week.
• Someone using your account to deposit money and then transferring it elsewhere.
• Someone offering to pay you to withdraw cash.

Stay protected:

• Don’t let someone use your bank account
• Never give your financial details to someone you don’t know or trust.
• If you don’t know how the person has the money, they may have got it illegally.

Scammers may offer pension investment opportunities which can be fake. They may tell you that you can cash in your pension before your retirement age. It’s illegal for companies to make unwanted phone calls to people about their pensions. Those that break the rules may be fined.

Be aware of:

• Unexpected calls or emails about your pension.
• Offers to take money from your pension and invest it in a scheme with higher returns.
• Getting no advice on tax implications.

Stay protected:

• Never make a pension transfer without carefully considering it.
• Always take advice from an independent financial adviser, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find more fraud information on their website.

Scammers will try to access your computer or device to get your personal information. They might even do this via telephone, pretending to be from your internet provider, telling you that there’s a problem with your internet that they need to fix.

They’ll tell you that they need to access your device remotely to control it. They may ask you to visit a website or open a link/attachment, which then gives them full access to your device. You might be asked to log into some of your online account profiles, which they can then take control of.

Stay protected:

• Put the phone down. A genuine provider would never call you randomly about issues with your device.
• Don’t let anyone have access to your device, even remotely.
• Don’t click on any suspicious links or open any attachments.
• Use anti-virus software on your device.
• If you have let someone remotely access your mobile device or PC, report it immediately.