Are you scam savvy? Share your experiences - £200 voucher to be won.

[EllieSmumsnet]

Created for UK Finance

This Activity is Now Closed.

With the cost of living increasing, it has never been more important to protect yourself from fraud and scams.

Criminals are taking advantage of the current challenges by targeting people with fake investment opportunities, too good to be true deals, loans that don’t exist and by impersonating trusted organisations.

What frauds or scams have you encountered recently? What gave the game away? And what steps do you take to protect your personal and financial information?

• Post your experiences in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw.
  
• One lucky winner will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.
  

If you’ve fallen for a scam and are happy to share your experience, UK Finance wants to hear from you so you can help others avoid it: [email protected]

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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[ginslinger]

I have had several texts from people claiming to be my child and having a new phone. What gives the game away is that I have no children. I did however have enormous fun with one having a long text conversation with them about xmas presents for Auntie Laura and Uncle Jim and whether or not they'd been in touch with their granny recently and why they'd left their bedroom like a tip when they last visited.

[CatNamedEaster]

Luckily I've never been scammed (I say luckily because I don't think people should me made to feel guilty if they are victims) but I did complain to my real bank about a call they made to me:

I had a call saying they were ringing from "your bank" and when I asked which one, they refused to say but asked for my details because unusual activity had been noticed.

I had a long conversation about the ethics of what they were expecting me to tell them based on giving me no reassurance. Eventually I ended the call, then used another phone to ring the main number. Unbelievably it had been them and there were notes on my file about the call so I raised a complaint that they cold called me, wouldn't tell me which bank they were but expected me to tell them my account details.

I don't tell anyone anything if it's an incoming call.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I've had a couple supposedly from PayPal recently. On my phone they look quite convincing, apart from the fact they don't use my name.
When I look at my emails on the laptop, however, they are easier to spot.

I can see how people get caught out to be honest.

[digestivebiscu1t]

I've had the kids' mobile phone one, fortunately I knew about that in advance but like to think I would have stopped before transferring any money even if I hadn't.

I regularly get scam inheritance ones which are so obvious that I don't know why they bother, as well as emails claiming to be from my Internet provider that are full of typos. I rarely answer my landline now as it's usually someone pretending to be Amazon.

[MrsDanversGlidesAgain]

When I was WFH in lockdown my office phone was forwarded to my home landline, and I'd get a few call, allegedly from Virgin, telling me that there was a fault on the line. Oddly they hung up when if offered them the IT dept number.

And I've had BT (allegedly) trying the same thing. The giveway if that they launch into 'there's a problem with your broadband,' spiel without asking any security questions. Oh, and the 'we saw you doing naughty things on your laptop camera, pay up or we tell your family' email. Delete. Plus the usual Amazon and Paypal stuff, which are easy to spot as they don't use my name.

[frogface69]

I'm always getting messages on my answer phone that my card has been used abroad. An automated message with a weird robotic voice ! I don't know how people fall for that one. I just block every single number but they still get through.

[BristolMum96]

Getting a lot of texts lately regarding payment for parcel fees and CLICK HERE to pay links.
Game given away by the fact I haven't ordered anything for months, who can afford it with the rising cost of living 😂
I just delete and ignore but I can see how if you were in a rush you might fall for the scam.

[PositiveLife]

Mine has mostly been texts saying I need to pay a fee for a parcel. I've seen quite a few friends mentioning the ones pretending to be a family member with a new phone.

[kennythekangaroo]

I get quite a few on my landline telling me that my Windows computer has a virus which is weird as we don't have a Windows computer in the house.

I also get some about large purchases on my credit card, obviously I check this myself but I could see how somebody would be easily fooled. It is worrying to think how simple it would be to scam a more vulnerable person.

[AnApparitionQuipped]

I've had a few TV licence ones, claiming that enforcement officers are on their way to my house - click this link to stop them.

Aside from the fact I've paid my TV licence by direct debit for decades, giveaways were spelling mistakes, the email not quoting my name or address, and it coming from some random email address.

Also, NHS emails asking me to test for various versions of Covid - again, no personalisation and email address contained a subtle spelling variant on the genuine NHS one. The NHS do not in fact have my email address - I've never given it to them. And this was long after test and trace ceased to be a thing!

The bottom line is - don't trust links in emails.

[voyager50]

I don't think I have had any scams sent directly to me recently but I don't have a smartphone so I am less likely to.

I have never fallen for any scams in the past and I think I would be pretty savvy in knowing when something isn't quite right.

[WannabeSaverInvester]

I was scammed when my landlord gave notice as he wanted to sell the property. Unfortunately it's impossible to get housing help with the council now even if you are about to be made homeless.

I was emailed a lovely house about half an hour away from me but as she was currently at the other side of the UK visiting a very unwell relative I couldn't view it that week. But was told a deposit would secure it .

I even viewed the house from outside and it did look empty. They clearly did a good job on Google and matching the description.

Stupidly out of desperation I paid. I think as soon as I had done it I had that horrible gut feeling. I called the bank right away but it was gone. I never got it back.

But this is what scammers do isn't it. They prey on the vulnerable. When we are in a desperate situation trying to make the best if things.

I was very angry at myself for a long time about that one.

[PeekabooAtTheZoo]

Umm... unless MN is blocked to all potential scammers, is writing this down and telling the scammers how they went wrong advisable?

[J0CASTA]

I had a very convincing scam call. It came up on my phone as being First Direct, who I bank with. Caller told me that there was suspicious activity on my account with transactions from two websites that I had bought from in the last few days .

When I asked for more details she said she couldn’t tell me without taking me through security , so I said I’d call back on the main bank number.

She was 100% believable until this point. I thought she had given me information about my account that only the bank could know. But as soon as I said I’d call back, she told me that my account would be frozen and I’d need to go into a branch etc to sort this all out. So then I knew it was a scam.

I had no idea that scammers could come up on my phone as my bank. And guess that they just gamble n the fact that some f their victims will have bought from certain stores. Or that they will give out information that’s used against them.

[Dizzywizz]

I’ve had quite a few email ones which I find hiding in my junk folder - you’ve inherited a billion pounds yada yadayada…I use them to explain to my kids what to look out for as they get older

[thinkponk48]

Luckily not been scammed but I get so many texts and emails with scams on them. My biggest hint is of they suggest something is very urgent then it's a sign of a scam

[RagzRebooted]

A couple of years ago now, but I saved in-laws from several scams. The last one was a cat scam. MIL was really into cats. She spotted an advert in a local free ads paper, a cat for sale. Ad had a photo of the guy holding the cat. So she calls him up, speaks to him, all sounds good and he wants her to send the money electronically and he will ship the cat.
Yes ship it. By courier.
Apparently this did not raise any alarm bells at all...
She said it can't possibly be a scam because of the photo and the fact she spoke to him on the phone.

She did listen to me in the end though.

[Ginxx]

Getting loads of text messages from delivery companies asking me to pay for delivery. I haven't fallen for it but sadly my dmum did last Christmas they asked for name and bank details for royal mail my mum was expecting a big parcel from them. Mum filled in the details and sent the 3 pound I think it was. 10 minutes later she gets a call from "the bank" saying that the website she just tried to pay via is a scam and they need her Internet banking login to stop the transaction. My mum panicking at this stage agreed and gave it out. My dbro noticed something didn't seem right and rang the real bank who said it was a scam its a double layer one. The real bank told mum that they had 3 bank cards attached to her Internet banking (other people who had been scammed) so luckily they was able to stop any one getting any money taken apart from the original 3 pound. My mum deleted her Internet banking after as she doesn't trust it anymore.

[sharond101]

I keep getting calls from Sky about my bank details but I am not with Sky!

[PermanentTemporary]

Unfortunately I've been successfully scammed twice.

The first was a 'parcel delivery' scam during lockdown 2 which apparently was rife then. They got £1 off me after I clicked on a link, then rang me impersonating my bank. As they talked I became suspicious as I'd read about scams in the paper that weekend. So they didn't get any further details and I cancelled everything with my actual bank.

I was also comprehensively scammed out of a lot of money on a dating site. I look back and can hardly believe I was so gullible. Thank goodness it was a one-off; they got money out of me so easily once that they tried again the following day and thank goodness I had woken up slightly.

Essentially I am now extremely suspicious of any phone calls from unknown people.

[imnotthatkindofmum]

I frequently get PayPal emails asking me to update my details but not to the email address I use for PayPal!

I never click on links in emails unless someone has told me they're sending one. If I need to update an account I will go to their website and t do it that way.

[Cuck00soup]

This one particularly pissed me off because it woke me up. It's just so tedious having daily messages about nonsense. Even more so in the middle of the night.

We've had a very sick relative for months so don't have the luxury of turning phones off overnight or ignoring messages. It's more than annoying, it's cruel. And that's before you even get to the scamming aspect. An elderly relative completely lost her confidence after being scammed so it's not even only about money. It's devastating and life altering.

Covid tests, fake deliveries, banking with banks I don't have products with. All annoying and worrying.

[Asuwere]

I'm very untrusting which is a very good thing when it comes to scammers! I don't get many calls but it's always a giveaway when they don't have any details, eg 'calling about your car accident' but can't tell me when/where it was.

[purplepandas]

Facebook scams seem to be rife at the moment. Totally see how people fall for them.as suitably vague in places. Being skeptical is always good! Give away is a desperate need to ship something genetically second hand and not rare across the country.

[mrshoho]

I was partially scammed a few days ago and was really annoyed that I fell for it. Luckily I didn't part with money and hopefully this the end of it.

My 16 year old was out with friends. He has a history of losing/breaking his phone and his friends have sometimes messaged me to let me know what's happened etc. I received a message

Hi mum I'm texting you off a friends phone I've smashed mine and their phones about to die, can you WhatsApp my new number 07393370505 please x

I replied back saying how did you get a new no but got no reply. I then panicked thinking maybe he needs to contact me via WhatsApp because he had no credit so I added it to my WhatsApp. Son walked in shortly after and said that wasn't him and his phone is fine! So I deleted and blocked the number.