Scams

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has joined calls for technology firms like Meta to do more to clamp down on a surge in scams originating from social media.

Charlie Nunn, one of Britain’s most influential bankers, said social media giants needed to collaborate more with lenders to protect consumers.

Asked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme whether Lloyds believed tech companies were “pulling their weight” on fraud, Nunn replied: “No, we don’t.”

Action Fraud is urging people to provide an extra layer of protection on their social media accounts and email after more than 33,600 accounts were hacked in the last year.

New data released by the national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre shows that victims lost a combined total of £1.4 million as a result of their online accounts being compromised.

People are being warned about fraudsters trying to steal their savings via scam websites and adverts.

Action Fraud says that every year victims lose thousands of pounds to criminals imitating genuine investment firms by clicking adverts which lead them to fraudulent websites. Often these websites imitate real pages and are known as "cloned companies".

HMRC has issued a warning about fraudulent emails appearing in people's inboxes this week. As we approach the festive season, taxpayers are being advised to disregard deceptive emails related to Royal Mail deliveries.

One UK citizen took to Twitter to share details of an email they received. The individual asked: "@HMRCcustomers I've received an email saying Royal Mail tried to deliver a large letter from HMRC but couldn't. Please click to rearrange. This is a scam? " HMRC responded, confirming that the email was indeed a scam.

Posting voice recordings online could potentially lead to scam attempts being made against family members and friends, a bank is warning.

Voice cloning scams, where fraudsters can imitate a person’s voice by using videos uploaded on social media, could catch many people out, Starling Bank found.

Nearly half (46%) of people do not know this type of scam even exists, according to a survey for the bank.

Burnley Council has issued a warning after a scam text message has been circulating.

A council spokesperson said a scam text message leads to a replica payment page, asking people to pay a non-existent parking fine.

More than half were in relation to customer-approved online bank transfers, also known as authorised push payment scams.

Scam-related complaints have reached their highest level since at least early 2018, according to a service that resolves disputes between consumers and financial firms.

In the first quarter of this financial year (April 1 to June 30), consumers lodged 8,734 gripes about fraud and scams, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said.

Today, the National Crime Agency can reveal that they have shut down a platform used by hundreds of criminals to defraud victims across the world.

Russian Coms, established in 2021, is thought to be behind financial losses in the tens of millions. An estimated 170,000 people across the UK are believed to be victims.

The letter is addressed from “Indv and Small Business Compliance” at HMRC. It states that, in response to a recent government initiative, the recipient of the letter should send certain documents to HMRC by email. The documents include the business’ bank statements, accounts and VAT return, and a copy of the driving license for each director.

HMRC’s advice

A HMRC spokesperson has confirmed that the letter is fraudulent and has given advice on how to stay safe online.

The office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has issued a warning to the public after a phone number claiming to be from there was falsely used.

West Midlands crime commissioner warns of phone number being used in scam | Express & Star (expressandstar.com)