Martyn James: Everything you need to beat the scammers

Do you worry about fraudsters targeting your friends and family? Is AI giving you sleepless nights? Have you been lured in to an investment by a celebrity endorsement that turned out to be fake.

Last year £1.17 billion was lost in fraudulent transactions, though a further £1.45 billion was saved from being stolen by the industry.

Fraudsters are everywhere – so it’s not possible to memorise all of the scams doing the rounds. But don’t feel overwhelmed, just follow these simple tips and you can avoid the vast majority of scams.

​If you think you’ve been defrauded, contact the bank or business as soon as possible (Picture: stock.adobe.com)

The golden rule is to treat everything you see with cynicism. Be cautious about any email, call or message that asks you to provide personal details, transfer money or click on a link.

Remember anything can be convincingly faked – even without artificial intelligence. That includes websites, business branding and phone numbers that look like they’ve come from your friends or relatives. One of the most common forms of impersonation scams involve phone calls from fake government-linked ‘official’ organisations, well known businesses or authority figures like the police.

Never use the links or numbers that come with the original notification. If the message looks like it’s come from someone you know, bear in mind it could be ‘spoofed’ (using cheap technology to make the name and number of the person or business appear on your phone) or the email or social media platforms might have been hacked.

Email and text fraud works by playing on your insecurities for just long enough for you to make a mistake. Fraudsters may use on topical news stories – like a bank or big business getting hacked, for example, or car finance compensation payouts – as a way to nudge you to ‘update your details’. Fraudsters also like to issue fake warnings that you have been defrauded – as a way to panic you in to handing over your data. The scam works by panicking you in to clicking on a link to find out more, which turns out to be a scammer’s website.

My fellow television expert, Katherine Hart, from Trading Standards is very concerned about the impact of fraud on businesses. Some fraudsters hack emails and trick businesses to send huge sums of money. There are also fake contractors and products that can rip off businesses. So make sure you pay other businesses and customers using a method that allows you to recall money if there’s a problem.

Scams are most devastating when they involve big money. Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud is where you are tricked in to either transferring large amounts of money or handing over your bank details to fraudsters. If you are called by someone claiming to be an authority figure, hang up and call your bank direct or dial 159 – a number from Stop Scams UK that connects you to your bank or other businesses – if you can’t find the number. You can report scams to Police Scotland by calling 101.

Your email is one of the most ‘hackable’ services you have. Your email address will be in the public domain so a fraudster only needs a leaked password and they have full access to your data and contacts. Here’s a test for you. Using the ‘search’ function in your emails, type ‘password’ or ‘passport’ and see what information comes up. You may be shocked by what you’ve emailed to yourself that a scammer can access by doing this: and it only takes them seconds. Always change your email password regularly.

If you think you’ve been defrauded, contact the bank or business ASAP. Don’t forget that you can go to the free Financial Ombudsman if you don’t think a financial business has treated you fairly. Most fraud follows an obvious pattern, so even in dire circumstances you may be able to get your money back if you act quickly.

Most importantly, speak to older or more vulnerable people that you know or who live nearby and share these tips. Only by working together can we defeat the scammers.

Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio presenter and journalist. Read more from him at this link.