Mumsnet users share their thoughts and experiences of financial fraud with Take Five

[JustineBMumsnet]

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Finding out that you’ve been a victim of a financial scam or fraud is never an easy thing to deal with. They can occur through varying methods such as via phone, email, text and/or post. With that being said Take Five want you to share your and/or your friends and family’s experiences of fraud or scams.

Here is what Take Five have to say: “Our research shows that many people do not feel confident that they could identify a fraudulent approach. Therefore the event will aim to empower and inspire parents to feel better prepared to ‘confidently challenge’ fraudsters, and recognise signs of fraud - remembering the mantra – My Money? My Info? I don’t think so."

Do you have an internal siren that goes off when you feel like something is a scam? Perhaps you’ve been scammed before and now know the best course of action to take? Or maybe you helped stop a family member from giving their bank details to someone you didn’t feel was genuine?

Whatever you or your family’s experiences of financial frauds and/or scams, write them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[Maiyakat]

I had an email from 'HMRC' about a tax rebate - sent at 0400 on a Sunday. Never knew they were so dedicated! If I'm unsure I will always go to the alleged company's website to check the email address or number directly.

[Breeze81]

I get lots of phishing emails from PayPal and eBay. A reputable company will never email and ask you to log in.

[catnapz]

When I was looking for jobs 2 years ago after uni, I received an email from someone sounding very convincing offering me a job in a warehouse. As I had applied for similar jobs I didn't suspect anything. They had a website and everything. The man in the email said due to people dropping out and them needing people asap I didn't need an interview and was offered the job. He sent me through lots of details, contract, info on working hours, benefits etc. I was really excited to start! A few emails later he said I would need a criminal disclosure check before starting and sent me a link to request this from a website, it cost £100 but I was told I would receive this back after starting the job. So after paying the £100 I emailed the man to let him know it was sorted. No reply. I started to wonder my start date etc would be and kept emailing him with questions but no response. A couple of days later I realised something wasn't right. I googled the company 'food culture ltd' and read threads from several people saying they have been scammed of £100 by a fake job. My heart dropped and I felt so stupid! Not only had I lost £100 but also didn't have a job now! I had been so excited and had told family and friends about it. They had websites, phone numbers and the business was even registered on google somehow. It taught me to not be so naive on the internet and I have a really good job now so hey ho.

[Mumslet]

Managed to stop a family member letting a gang of Indian fraudsters remotely take over her computer to steal her bank details etc. Of course, if companies like TalkTalk had proper security procedures, they wouldn't get our contact details in the first place. Punishing them by withholding our custom is one way to make other companies take more care.

[LunasSpectreSpecs]

I've been around on the internet long enough to be pretty savvy, especially with emails. Anything asking me to "log in and confirm my details" sets alarm bells ringings, as do poorly constructed emails with loads of spelling errors.

I've lost count of how many relatives have died in West Africa, and have supposedly left me several million dollars.

[georgedawes]

Touch wood I've not been a victim myself, although I get a lot of spam emails. My sister had her card cloned which was a nightmare, they spent thousands before it was stopped. The bank was great though!

[APJ1]

We're now very wary of fraudulent online sellers after someone once helped themselves to £2000 from my mum's account.

[EmilyKEDB]

Any time I get a phone call that even asks about my personal affairs (finances, homeowner, if I work) I hang up. I never say if I work or not because they could easily break in if I do. Finances/Homeowner normally mean they're going to sell you something or they could be canvassing how much stuff you have to take or if you're worth scamming.

Emails from Apple/Paypal/Microsoft/any other business I may be subscribed to are usually a scam. If they start with "dear customer" or have any grammar/spelling mistakes they're a scam.

[SSCRASE123]

I work in this area so have a lot of experience. The usual phone/e-mail scams are something I get/see many times every day. Most are very simple to spot but these days I am seeing some extremely clever and believable ones that I'm not surprised catch people out.

[glenka]

I am always getting emails that are supposed to be from my bank and I am never sure if they are real or not, it's very hard sometimes to tell and know what to do.

[Liquorice13]

I keep getting emails from people in my contact list stating they need money, these scammers are very clever

[gd2011]

I have advised older relatives that someone ringing them who says they are from the bank may not be telling the truth and to not divulge amy personal information.

[TracyKNixon]

I'm always careful to check links before I click on them and I also consider who sent the email or the email address

[123hartley123]

I get an inner feeling, but best of all I have good security our laptop

[MAForster]

My bank gives a list of questions it would never ask on the phone. If somebody does ask one then it is a scam.

[meepmoop79]

I am always very cautious and conscious of the various scams that go on.
I know that it is unlikely that the bank will contact me directly via email, or that i am the winner of a million pounds!
And if in doubt i always check the emails source.

[shellywkd]

Someone hacked my amazon account and changed my email and password. Luckily I noticed really quickly and Amazon were great and sorted it out straight away.

[Marg2k8]

One day I was at work in the UK and my bank phoned to ask if I was in China buying £3000 of jewellery.

[AuFinch]

I never believe an email - and the phone is worse. We did actually have the bank genuinely ring - but i insisted to the man i would call the bank back and when he started giving me the telephone number i told him to stop because i would be ringing the number we already have - he was great about it as he understood about these scams.

My tip is to never trust anyone that calls, emails or phones you - genuine people will not mind you looking up their phone number to call back (never phone a number scammers will try to give you).

and the old saying always applies: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is! never let money leave your hands for any goods advertised on selling sites etc

[glennamy]

Simply do not reply under any circumstances to emails, if it is important and you think it is valid then call them up by phone with existing numbers and they will confirm the validity of it. Do not send banking details to anyone!!!!!

[Funkyferret]

I'm really cautious. I can spot a spam email and never entertain any cold callers on the phone. I also only use cash machines in bank branches. My husband recently found a fake fascia on a local cash machine (for some time he's been giving them a few hard yanks before he'll use one, which probably looks odd but is worth it). That's made me even more cautious. The problem is that fraud isn't really classed as a particularly serious crime although the consquences can be terrible.

[janeyf1]

I am suspicious of any emails that contain links or attachments. I know several friends who have fallen victim to fraud, so I try to be as careful as possible and delete anything that doesn't look right

[vonniebab2]

I never click on email attachments also I always go inside the bank to draw cash out I never use the outside cashpoints

[hiddenmichelle]

Just delete emails that look too good to be true - they are!

[MSHGW]

I've never been scammed. I'm very wary and suspicious by nature, and it comes in handy.