Online scams are becoming increasingly common, however there are several key ways you will be able to identify unusual behaviour, and take action should you feel you may be at risk of being scammed. We have teamed up with Age UK Oxfordshire to help you understand how to avoid scammers online.
According to an Age UK report, scams amount to approximately "40% of all crimes" that take place in the United Kingdom, so it's no surprise that courses in Scam Awareness are becoming increasingly popular - we have seen several such talks take place in the communal lounges at our developments over the past few years.
Online scams are of particular concern, as ActionFraud recently reported, in 2023, as much as £1.3million was lost from hacked email and social media accounts in the UK alone, highlighting the importance of securing your online accounts.
We have written a series of blogs on the subject of identifying and avoiding scams, including over the phone, on the internet and on your doorstep. Read on to discover our guide to spotting online scams, written in association with Age UK Oxfordshire.
A scammer could be looking for any personal information.
All it takes is your name, date of birth and address for a scammer to start stealing your identity or defrauding you of your savings. They try to access the following:
For a scammer, the ultimate aim is to know enough about you to gain access to your bank account number, your PIN codes or your National Insurance number. They can use this information to take money from your accounts or even create another ‘you’ and use it to open bank accounts, take out credit cards, loans and mobile phones in your name or even apply for benefits in your name.
A data breach is when information held by an organisation – such as an airline or bank – is stolen or accessed without authorization.
Scammers will then use this information when creating scam emails and text messages, which appear legitimate. Several data breaches have happened over recent years.
You might then receive a message claiming to be from the organisation that has been affected by the data breach and the message could ask you to log in and verify your account because of the fraudulent activity. The message will link to websites that look genuine, but which will store your real details once you’ve typed them in. The website could install viruses onto your computer or steal any passwords you enter. It’s not just emails – it’s also texts and, if your stolen information contains your phone number, you might receive a call.
To check if your details have appeared in any public data breaches, there are a number of websites you can use to figure out which passwords will need to be updated.
If you find that your email address has been included in a data breach, take a look at www.ncsc.gov.uk for advice. You should:
If you’ve lost money, contact Action Fraud and tell your bank. Action Fraud is the UK’s reporting centre for cyber crime and the details are listed at the end of this blog.
Email scams are some of the most common forms of scam – they are called ‘phishing emails.’
This is an easy way to target both individuals and businesses. Their aim is to lead you to unsafe websites, to steal your personal data or attack your devices with malware. The email may direct you to an unsafe website – for example, those that purport to be from the Royal Mail telling you it is necessary to pay for your parcel and directing you to link that does not direct you to the Royal Mail but to a different or perhaps even similar looking site.
Look carefully at the email display name and address. It may look like it’s from a genuine business or someone you know but the display name cannot be trusted.
There may be an additional letter or a hyphen in a different place to that of the genuine business. Using a product such as Office 365 with the Defender product, your Outlook will automatically highlight the unrecognised sender email addresses.
An investment scam involves you being invited to invest in things that have no value or simply don’t exist.
The scammers may pose as a company you’ve heard of and trust, but the scammers can create fake websites and send genuine-looking documents to convince you.
It can be difficult to check on investments but if you are promised tempting returns that sound too good to be true, that is, much better interest rates than elsewhere, if they call you repeatedly and keep you on the phone for long periods, if they suggest this is a one-off, time-limited offer or that you are the only person being offered the investment, then be extremely wary.
The scammers pose as delivery couriers requesting payment for undelivered parcels or send fake delivery notifications with links or email attachments that enable them to put spyware on your devices and steal your financial information.
Some scammers intercept genuine parcels and reroute them to fraudulent addresses. Package delivery services don’t need you to provide your personal or financial information.
There is something known as ‘brush scamming’ where sellers send unsolicited packages to people to create fake transactions on e-commerce platforms to boost their sales and products ranking.
If you receive a parcel you did not ask for – possibly from abroad – containing something like cheap jewellery, it could be a sign that your personal information including your name and home addressed has been compromised – there may have been a data breach or the scammer might have bought your details in an illegal marketplace – so do report this.
If you receive a text, email or sometimes a card through your letterbox about a parcel you did not order, details about where the package is from and what it contains will generally be vague.
It may contain spelling or grammatical errors. Remember, Royal Mail and genuine delivery companies do not ask you to pay a fee in this way.
Take a look at www.royalmail.com at ‘typical online scams to look out for.’
Relationship scams are heartbreaking. You might think you’ve met the perfect partner online, but they are using a fake profile to form a relationship with you.
They gain your trust over weeks and months and you begin to believe that you have a caring relationship but their aim is to defraud you of money or access your personal information.
Be wary if you have contacted someone online and they declare their love for you very swiftly. Many fraudsters claim to be overseas, working in the military or medical professions. Many scammers create fake facebook profiles and contact you asking you to accept their friend request.
Often the profiles of such scammers have religious messages or photos of the person with a pet or at work in uniform. Their pictures will be too perfect and are often stolen from actor or model sites. They may make up excuses why they can’t meet up in person or have a video chat and try to move the conversation off the dating site or facebook or wherever you ‘met’ them.
If they ask for financial help, say they have a time-critical emergency, it will probably be a scam and they may get defensive if you decline help.
If you're from Oxfordshire and have been affected by scams and would like to discuss a one-to-one visit with Age UK Oxfordshire, or would like to organise a group talk to raise awareness of scams please get in touch by emailing scamsupport@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk or call 0345 450 1276.
You are also able to find information about your local Age UK Office here, who will be happy to support you.
Age UK also run their “Age UK Advice Line” on 0800 678 1602, a general telephone line with operatives who will be able to give you advice, and direct you towards resources to help you. The line is open 8am to 7pm every day of the year.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting unit. The telephone number is 0300 123 2040 and you can contact them online on www.actionfraud.police.uk.
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