We highlight some common scams to be aware of this Christmas, how to keep your data safe, and how to check if something is genuine or not.
Due to the length of time scammers have had to develop scams, unfortunately there are a huge array of them to be aware of these days.
However, with Christmas on the horizon and people being much busier and more distracted than usual, it can be the case that people fall for tricks they would ordinarily be more vigilant of.
We take a look at some common scams to be aware of over Christmas – or any other time of the year.
Online scams
- Suspiciously low online prices
A seemingly genuine website offers goods at a much lower price than the competition. The site itself may be a scam for a webstore that doesn’t exist. Having purchased an item, you have handed either money or your details (or both) onto the scammer.
This could be a completely fake brand, or a cloned website of an authentic brand used to trick the buyer into paying money for an item or service that doesn’t exist, or hand over confidential information or account logins which could then be used by the scammer.
- Social media giveaways/contests/fake accounts
Fake accounts or influencers offering amazing prizes, products, surveys for money, contest or any other kind of ‘too good to be true’ item or service. The scammer would then receive your personal information upon signing up, entering or purchasing.
This scam takes the form of a breeder, for example, selling an expensive breed of dog for collection. Upon liaising with the scammer, the seller then gets the buyer to pay for the animal before collection. After receiving the money, the seller disappears.
Fake online charities with convincing-looking websites, putting out calls to help whatever cause. The scammer is looking to appeal to your good nature to make a donation to a charity that does not exist, and maybe also hand over personal data unwittingly.
This could be a website selling tickets for a concert, a reselling website, or an individual trying to get rid of tickets they no longer need for a price. Having scammed the buyer out of their money (and possibly personal information), they are then uncontactable or unresponsive.
Like many of the above examples, this could be a cloned holiday website imitating a genuine holiday company brand, an Airbnb host listing a fake property, an individual who can no longer go on holiday offering tickets on social media, or a completely fake scam website with suspiciously good deals.
Having fooled the buyer into parting with their money, the scammer simply disappears with your money and/or personal information.
A romance scam is an instance of an individual pretending to be romantically interested in the victim in order to make requests for money or other valuables.
This could be achieved over a period of time, where the scammer builds up trust with an individual and may even send photographs of someone else entirely to convince them that they are who they claim to be. When successful, it may carry on until the victim has run out of money or realises that they have been scammed.
Text message/WhatsApp scams
Text message or WhatsApp scams can come out of the blue and usually from a number that isn’t in your phone book.
They may appear at any time, day or night, and they can sometimes do when you are genuinely expecting something, such as parcel dispatch or delivery notification.
You receive a message saying that a courier tried to deliver a parcel but was unsuccessful. The message usually asks you to click on a link to reschedule your delivery, hoping that you will provide the scammer with your personal details or account logins.
A ‘close relative’ gets in touch and either asks you for money because they are stuck somewhere, or they have a new phone number and want you to contact them on it. Often these messages are addressed to Mum or Dad from a child, for example.
The aim is to trick you in sending money or personal information to a scammer who you believe is a genuine contact.
A service or someone posing as a friend or existing contact gets in touch and asks you to either pay for something you owe by sending them the value of amount owed as a gift card code, or asks for you to buy a gift card on their behalf. This scam can also be carried out via email.
Email
Most people receive dozens of emails a day, and if you are not paying attention it can be really easy to fall for an email scam and click on a dodgy link that shows up in your inbox. Read on for some examples of email scams.
This definition comes directly from Action Fraud. We have posted it here as phishing is one of the most common scams these days, due to the sheer number of emails sent and received. Action Fraud states:
“‘Phishing’, ‘quishing’ or ‘smishing’ is when criminals use scam emails, text messages, QR codes, or phone calls to trick victims.
“Whether it’s an email asking you to ‘verify’ your bank account details, or a text message claiming you’ve missed a delivery and are required to pay a redelivery fee, the goal is usually the same – to trick you into revealing personal and financial information.”
As with text or WhatsApp messages – you receive an email saying that a courier tried to deliver a parcel but was unsuccessful. The email usually urges you to click on a link to reschedule your delivery, hoping that you will provide the scammer with your personal details or account logins.
These usually take the form of an email telling you that you requested a password reset and provide a link to click. This may be entirely genuine if you are in the middle of doing so, but if not it is likely a scam email trying to gain your login details.
You may also receive a genuine notification telling you that someone that isn’t you has accessed or attempted to access your account, which would mean that somebody is either trying to log into your account or has already succeeded.
Similar to the gift card scam detailed in the Text message/WhatsApp section, you are contacted by either an organisation or individual asking you to pay for something by sending them the value of the amount requested in gift card voucher codes.
This could be a widespread scam targeting a large number of people, or it could be as a result of your address book being accessed by hackers.
Public scams
- Fraudulent charity collectors
Unauthorised donation box collectors posing as either a genuine charity or a pretend one in order to pocket donation money.
This has become more common since car parks and other services began providing QR codes as quick links that redirect your smartphone to their payment portal.
Scammers create a new QR code to a fake payment portal and stick their code over the top of the legitimate one, sending unsuspecting victims to a fake payment portal built to collect their money and possibly their payment information.
Telephone/Person-to-person scams
Telephone scams are a much older form of fraud, but they are still unfortunately very widespread. Many of them now have evolved to use either a completely automated message or an AI (artificial intelligence) generated voice.
- Calls from individuals impersonating bank departments/phone contract providers, etc
These tend to take the form of a person supposedly from a position of authority (police, bank, etc) requesting personal information, sometimes as a matter of urgency for whatever invented reason, in the hope that you will provide personal information.
- Fake companies, such as a bank or insurance provider
Similar to the above, except this may be a scammer pretending to be from a company requesting a payment or some other transaction, or asking for confirmation of certain personal information.
These take the form of a scammer calling and pretending to be following up on a job enquiry or similar, with the aim of obtaining personal and bank details as part of the supposed recruitment process.
They may also request upfront fees for training programmes, or other onboarding processes for jobs that do not actually exist.
How can I protect myself from scams this Christmas?
Some of the above scams can sound intimidating, but thankfully there are many ways to protect yourself and minimise the risk of falling victim. Here are some simple tips:
- When shopping online – use trusted sites and companies and access these sites directly if possible using the actual website address. Make sure the https:// is visible at the start of the web address, and that it has the padlock icon to show that it is secure.
- If it looks too good to be true, it probably is – If you see an outstanding discount that is much lower than any competing sites, this may be an indication that it is not genuine. Do your homework, check to see if the company has reviews on review sites, and never rush into making such a purchase on impulse.
- Keep payments secure – Credit cards offer additional buyer protection when compared to debit cards. trusted payment providers such as PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay also have systems in place to help safeguard buyers. Do not use bank transfers unless you are 100% certain that a seller or service is legitimate.
- Keep passwords as secure as possible – Keep unique and complex passwords which are different for each account, ensuring that one breach of security cannot compromise more than one of your accounts. keep your passwords securely stored.
- Use two-factor authentication (2FA) – Enabling two-factor authentication where available means that an additional code sent to your phone or email address. This should prevent a potential scammer from accessing an account due to not having all necessary passwords required to get in.
- Be on the alert – Be wary of unexpected emails, texts, phone calls or links to payment providers. Always access a payment provider or account independently to verify whether a transaction or payment request is being made legitimately. Look out for spelling errors or other inaccuracies in messages, and never be pressured by an insistent person over the phone.
- Keep devices updated – Updated devices have the most current security firmware installed on them, reducing the risk of being exploited by hackers or viruses.
- Regularly check account statements – Make sure that all your transactions were made by you and immediately report anything you don’t know about or that looks suspicious or unauthorised.
- Be wary of delivery updates – Make sure they are genuine. If in doubt, log into your courier’s website without clicking on any links within messages or emails to see if they are genuine. Avoid malicious links when doing so.
- Do not be rushed or pressurised – Anybody trying to hurry you into making a decision. Banks and legitimate organisation will never request passwords or other sensitive information. If you think something is wrong, cease the call or correspondence immediately and contact the bank or organisation by official means (authorised website or telephone number, etc.)
- Look our for bad spelling, grammar and unprofessionalism – Not always, but some less meticulous scams may have poor spelling or grammar. Also be on the lookout for regular email addresses being used in email correspondence, such as Gmail accounts with nonsensical or personal names.
Can I get my money back from a fraud or scam?
There are options available to recover your money. Recovery of the money can be sought from the financial institution that should have prevented the fraud.
In some instances, there may also be other regulated firms involved who also could have detected the fraud and issued a warning. You can attempt to recover the funds yourself without legal representative. However, there are benefits to having instructed a Solicitor to do this for you.
Can Oakwood Solicitors help me reclaim money from a scam?
If you have lost over £3,000 to a fraudster or through a crypto scam, we would advise making an enquiry to our team on 0113 200 9720.
Oakwood Solicitors is an SRA registered Law firm, with over 20 years of experience in Financial Litigation claims. We aim to take the hassle out of the claims process, as we do all the hard work for you.
We have a dedicated department of specialise lawyers who have knowledge and experience of bank fraud and scams. As the scams become increasingly more sophisticated, and the fraudsters become harder to detect, it is important to have the right people on your side to ensure that you have the best chance of recovering your money.
Our Financial Litigation Solicitors and support staff are experts in Financial Litigation matters. They understand the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding financial scams.
We will offer you advice, guidance and support using all the legal and regulatory framework to maximise your chances of successfully recovering your money, and doing so in the most time efficient way.
Are there any organisations who can help me?
There are charities and organisations out there that are able to offer advice to people who have been scammed, as well as provide more information to keep you up to date with current issues to be aware of. Here are some to consider:
Further reading
Bank fraud and scam claims – Oakwood Solicitors
Online trading claims – Oakwood Solicitors
Romance scams – Oakwood Solicitors
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you have lost over £3,000 due to being scammed, get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help.
Stephanie Gardiner is a Paralegal in the Financial Litigation Department. Stephanie joined Oakwood Solicitors in February 2018 as a new enquiry handler in the New Enquiries Team after completing her L…
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