CyberOps

Vishing

This is phone call where the scammers pretend to be from your bank, building society or even a government agency.

During the phone call, the fraudsters will attempt to get you to reveal your personal details.

How to spot it

It’s very difficult to spot. The big tip-off is that the caller will be desperately trying to get you to reveal your information, which no legitimate caller would ask you to do.

Investment Scams

This is generally a phone-based scam. Although you might be targeted in other ways, such as email or people coming to your house.

Although investment scams vary, the principle remains the same. You’re encouraged to hand over money to invest in a company or product, which doesn’t exist.

How to spot it

It can be quite difficult. Many of the companies the scammers are calling from or trying to get you to invest in can look legitimate – with websites, social media profiles and testimonials.

See if the investor is regulated by checking the register on the FCA website

To see if what they’re getting you to invest in exists, check them on the Companies House website

It’s unlikely a company will contact you out of the blue about an investment opportunity. So if you get an unexpected phone call, it’s best to ignore it.

A big warning sign should be if you’re told an investment offers a high rate of return with little risk.

Pension Scams

Since the pension freedoms were introduced in 2015, retirees are able to access large sums of money from pension pots.

An unfortunate side-effect has been that this group is now being targeted by scammers because they can potentially access large amounts of cash.

Pension scams will usually follow a similar path to investment scams, with contact normally being made by telephone.

How to spot it

Warning signs are similar to those for investment scams.

Unsolicited phone calls, or any unrequested contact, should be treated as suspicious. Anything involving high returns with low risk should ring alarm bells.

If you want to be sure, check the FCA register and the Companies House website

Ticket Scams

This is when you buy tickets for a concert or sporting event, for example – but the person, or website, you’re buying from either doesn’t send the tickets, or sends you fakes.

This is most common on ticket reselling or exchange sites, which makes get a refund very difficult.

To combat touts, many events issue tickets that can only be used by the person who bought them, so tickets on reselling sites won’t work

How to spot it

Spotting this scam can be difficult as you might not realise you’ve been scammed until the day of the event.

One way you might be able to spot it is by looking at the website.

If it’s one you’ve never heard of, doesn’t have proper contact details, or only lists a mobile phone number or PO box – avoid it.

Smishing

These are text message-based scam.

Scammers will contact you claiming to be from your bank, saying you need to update your personal details or that there’s an issue.

The text might contain a link, like a phishing scam, or a phone number to call. The phone number is fake and when you call the fraudsters will attempt to get you to reveal your details.

How to spot it

It’s difficult to spot, so if you get a message like this – be suspicious.

One giveaway might be the phone number in the text is not the same as the one on your credit or debit card.

Pharming

This is similar to phishing, but instead of sending you an email directly, the scammers target the website you’re visiting.

You type in the correct website address, but you then get directed to a fake version, where you inadvertently put in your login details and secure information.

How to spot it

Scammers have also designed these fake websites to look just like the real thing.

Look at the website address. It won’t show up as you’re expecting, but as a selection of numbers. Or perhaps something similar to the real name, but with letters switched around or a different spelling.

Advance-fee fraud

This is another kind of email scam, and probably the most well-known. You get an email from ex-ministers or the royal family, often from a country in Africa.

They’ll usually ask to use your bank account to deposit a large sum of money so they can get out of the country and offer to pay you a fee.

You’ll be asked for your bank details. But of course there’s no money and the scammers will use the details you send to clear out your bank account.

Similar schemes exist with wills and claiming an inheritance from a long-lost relative.

How to spot it

As with many of the scams we’ve mentioned so far – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Again, it’s worth checking the email – as the name the message is from and the email won’t match. Bad spelling and grammar can also be a give-away.

Safe account scams

You’ll be contacted, usually on the phone by someone claiming to be from your bank. They’ll say your account has been compromised in some way and encourage you to transfer all your money from your bank to a ‘safe account’.

How to spot it

It can be very difficult as the scammers play on your fears about people illegally accessing your money.

But the easiest thing to remember is banks will never ask you to transfer money into a ‘safe account.

If your account has been hacked, your bank will be able to stop money coming out of it very quickly and there would be no point in transferring your money to a different bank account.

Computer software fraud

This is where scammers pretending to be from Apple or Microsoft contact you by phone or email. They say they need your payment details to fix, update or validate your software

How to spot it

It’s very unlikely computer companies would make a phone call about these kind of issues if you haven’t asked for one.

So it’s best to treat the calls with the same suspicion as you would treat any other unexpected call or email.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

a digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies are known for their market volatility so the value of investor’s assets go up and down quickly. As more people have invested their money in cryptocurrencies, criminals have capitalised on this as an opportunity to commit fraud.

Criminals advertise schemes promising, in some cases, high returns through cryptocurrency investing or mining. Frequently advertised on social media, criminals try to lure you in with adverts offering easy money quickly in order to obtain your money or personal information.

How to protect yourself

• Be wary of adverts online and on social media promising high returns on investments in cryptoassets or cryptoasset-related products and be suspicious if you are contacted out the blue about an investment opportunity. This could be via a cold-call, an e-mail or an approach on social media.


• Don’t be rushed into making an investment. No legitimate person or firm will pressure you into making an investment, or committing to something on the spot. Take time to do your research.


• Most firms advertising and selling investments in cryptoassets are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authorotiy (FCA)
  
  so always check the FCA Register to make sure you’re dealing with an authorised firm and check the FCA Warning List of firms to avoid.


• Just because a company has a glossy website and glowing reviews from ‘high net worth’ investors does not mean it is genuine – fraudsters will go to great lengths to convince you they are not a scam.

Romance fraud

This involves people being duped into sending money to criminals who go to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them that they are in a genuine relationship.

They use language to manipulate, persuade and exploit so that requests for money do not raise alarm bells.

Requests might be highly emotive, such as criminals claiming they need money for emergency medical care, or to pay for transport costs to visit the victim if they are overseas. Scammers will often build a relationship with their victims over time.

How to stay safe from romance scams

• Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online.



• Speak to your family or friends to get advice.



• Profile photos may not be genuine, do your research first. Performing a reverse image search on a search engine can find photos that have been taken from somewhere, or someone, else.