Scams update
Dear residents,
I have copied below an update from my colleague Angela in West Berkshire.
I am attaching a Press Release from Public Protection Partnership regarding a Successful Trading Standards operation.
Consumer scam alerts - Norfolk County Council
https://s-url.co/6VYMAA
This website gives information on numerous scams that are currently circulating and on rogue traders.
Scammers are using fake Zara customer service accounts to trick customers on X (formerly Twitter).
If you have an issue with a company, complaining on social media can usually be an effective way to get your issue resolved more quickly. Which? has found scammers on X posing as real customer service agents for a number of well-known brands in recent months. Which? has uncovered 37 fake Zara accounts that were replying to customers' genuine queries on X in a bid to steal their personal data. The scam accounts we spotted were actively responding to customer complaints that had tagged Zara's genuine X account. These fake accounts will often reply quickly, in the hope that customers won't notice they're being contacted by a fraudster.
The latest type of courier scam has been back in the news recently when a West London man was sentenced to five years in prison for tricking people into handing over their money.
He persuaded one victim to go to their bank and withdraw £5,000, which was then handed over to a courier, under the false premise of keeping it safe. This sentencing comes as courier scams are on the rise - costing people £28.7 million last year, according to figures from Action Fraud - with people in their 80s most likely to be targeted.
During the first two weeks in May this year, the City of London Police’s Lead Force Operations Room recorded more than 100 referrals for courier fraud – and 85% of victims were between 60 and 90 years old. Spokesperson Detective Sergeant Victoria O’Keefe says: “This is a particularly nasty crime type often resulting in significant psychological harm and financial loss to victims, many of whom are living alone and suffering age-related illness.”
You might have heard of courier scams before – they’ve been doing the rounds on Facebook Marketplace and eBay for some time. A buyer, for example, might claim they’re too busy to collect an item and says they’ll use a courier who’ll bring you the cash – and all you need to do is give them your bank details to pay the insurance, which can put your money or identity under threat. But this latest generation of courier fraud is different and more dangerous – involving requests for much larger sums of money and specifically targeting older people. If you’ve not come across it before, it’s important to learn the warning signs.
Strategic Fraud Prevention and Behavioural Lead for UK Finance Paul Maskall explains. “An example is I’ll call you up and say I’m from the police and your local bank branch is under investigation and we’re quite concerned about the safety of your money,” he says. The caller might know some of the target’s details, including their address or other personal data. However, this will likely have been obtained fraudulently to increase the chances of sounding genuine.
“So, I ask you to go down to your bank branch but don’t tell the staff anything about this because they’re under investigation. Then I’ll tell you to withdraw a sum of money and I’ll send a courier to pick it up.” Sadly, the courier will then have driven off with the cash and never be seen again. “We’ve also seen cases where people are manipulated into buying gold bullion and then giving it to a courier,” adds Maskall. Gold bullion-based courier fraud has been prevalent over the last year in multiple locations, costing victims millions. In these cases, those defrauded were between 75 and 91 in age.
Recent other cases have seen victims persuaded to hand over jewellery, gold coins or their bank card with its Pin to couriers – sometimes with a password given to make it seem more legitimate. These valuable items are then surrendered to the courier, all under the guise of these being ‘evidence’ in an ongoing investigation and the victim told they can reclaim the money, only to find it’s all a scam. I heard today that a local person received a call purporting to be a Police Officer who told her that they had arrested a man saying that he was her Grandson and had her cards. They got into conversation and then asked if she had any Jewellery. She told them in her safe and they asked her to bag it up and they would send a courier round to collect the jewellery, as they could keep it safe for her. Fortunately, when another call came through from the fraudster a neighbour had arrived home and took the call which avoided her being scammed.
Scammers are impersonating solicitors and making away with victims’ house deposits just before their completion dates.
This scam is known as conveyancing fraud, and it's typically executed by a fraudster hacking into a solicitor’s or buyer’s email account and providing alternative bank details for deposits to be paid into. Lloyds Bank has warned that it received 29% more reports of conveyancing fraud in the second half of last year compared with the first half. It also found that victims lost an average of £47,000 and around 45% of victims were aged 39 or under, signalling that first-time buyers may be most at risk.
This link provides additional information:
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/scammers-steal-home-deposits-in-callous-conveyancing-scams-afGcO5t39f7o
Fraudsters use deepfake videos in many ways – to steal identities, impersonate people you know and pose as famous people to sell dodgy products and investments.
In its 2024 identity fraud report, identity verification company Onfido found a 3,000% increase in the use of deepfake attempts at identity fraud in 2023 compared to 2022. Onfido puts this down to growth in the accessibility of cheap online tools, apps and generative AI.
Verification and authentication company iProov also reported an increase in the use of deepfakes in the form of face-swap technology, which is software that allows you to put someone else’s face over your own in a video. It saw these types of attacks grow by over 700% in the second half of 2023, when compared to the first half of the year.
Last year, the passing of the Online Safety Act made it a legal requirement for platforms to remove harmful content, including scams and frauds. Which? is calling on Ofcom, the regulator responsible for enforcing the rules, to develop a code of conduct that puts robust duties on platforms to detect and take down scams using the Online Safety Act.
How to spot and report a deepfake video
Some deepfake videos are hard to identify, but there are methods you can use:
· Watch out for low quality lip-syncing.
· Pay attention to details and quality – do the hair, lighting and skin tone of the person look believable? Is there any blurring in the video?
· Listen out for strange background noises or robotic voices.
· Look for unnatural facial expressions.
· Check where the video comes from. If it wasn't posted by an official account, you should be suspicious of it.
To report scam videos on social media, select the three dots in the top right-hand corner and then ‘Report’.
If you become the victim of a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud. https://s-url.co/nVYUAA
Message Sent By
Neil Gunnell
(NWN, MSA, Thames Valley, South Oxfordshire)
I have copied below an update from my colleague Angela in West Berkshire.
I am attaching a Press Release from Public Protection Partnership regarding a Successful Trading Standards operation.
Consumer scam alerts - Norfolk County Council
https://s-url.co/6VYMAA
This website gives information on numerous scams that are currently circulating and on rogue traders.
Scammers are using fake Zara customer service accounts to trick customers on X (formerly Twitter).
If you have an issue with a company, complaining on social media can usually be an effective way to get your issue resolved more quickly. Which? has found scammers on X posing as real customer service agents for a number of well-known brands in recent months. Which? has uncovered 37 fake Zara accounts that were replying to customers' genuine queries on X in a bid to steal their personal data. The scam accounts we spotted were actively responding to customer complaints that had tagged Zara's genuine X account. These fake accounts will often reply quickly, in the hope that customers won't notice they're being contacted by a fraudster.
The latest type of courier scam has been back in the news recently when a West London man was sentenced to five years in prison for tricking people into handing over their money.
He persuaded one victim to go to their bank and withdraw £5,000, which was then handed over to a courier, under the false premise of keeping it safe. This sentencing comes as courier scams are on the rise - costing people £28.7 million last year, according to figures from Action Fraud - with people in their 80s most likely to be targeted.
During the first two weeks in May this year, the City of London Police’s Lead Force Operations Room recorded more than 100 referrals for courier fraud – and 85% of victims were between 60 and 90 years old. Spokesperson Detective Sergeant Victoria O’Keefe says: “This is a particularly nasty crime type often resulting in significant psychological harm and financial loss to victims, many of whom are living alone and suffering age-related illness.”
You might have heard of courier scams before – they’ve been doing the rounds on Facebook Marketplace and eBay for some time. A buyer, for example, might claim they’re too busy to collect an item and says they’ll use a courier who’ll bring you the cash – and all you need to do is give them your bank details to pay the insurance, which can put your money or identity under threat. But this latest generation of courier fraud is different and more dangerous – involving requests for much larger sums of money and specifically targeting older people. If you’ve not come across it before, it’s important to learn the warning signs.
Strategic Fraud Prevention and Behavioural Lead for UK Finance Paul Maskall explains. “An example is I’ll call you up and say I’m from the police and your local bank branch is under investigation and we’re quite concerned about the safety of your money,” he says. The caller might know some of the target’s details, including their address or other personal data. However, this will likely have been obtained fraudulently to increase the chances of sounding genuine.
“So, I ask you to go down to your bank branch but don’t tell the staff anything about this because they’re under investigation. Then I’ll tell you to withdraw a sum of money and I’ll send a courier to pick it up.” Sadly, the courier will then have driven off with the cash and never be seen again. “We’ve also seen cases where people are manipulated into buying gold bullion and then giving it to a courier,” adds Maskall. Gold bullion-based courier fraud has been prevalent over the last year in multiple locations, costing victims millions. In these cases, those defrauded were between 75 and 91 in age.
Recent other cases have seen victims persuaded to hand over jewellery, gold coins or their bank card with its Pin to couriers – sometimes with a password given to make it seem more legitimate. These valuable items are then surrendered to the courier, all under the guise of these being ‘evidence’ in an ongoing investigation and the victim told they can reclaim the money, only to find it’s all a scam. I heard today that a local person received a call purporting to be a Police Officer who told her that they had arrested a man saying that he was her Grandson and had her cards. They got into conversation and then asked if she had any Jewellery. She told them in her safe and they asked her to bag it up and they would send a courier round to collect the jewellery, as they could keep it safe for her. Fortunately, when another call came through from the fraudster a neighbour had arrived home and took the call which avoided her being scammed.
Scammers are impersonating solicitors and making away with victims’ house deposits just before their completion dates.
This scam is known as conveyancing fraud, and it's typically executed by a fraudster hacking into a solicitor’s or buyer’s email account and providing alternative bank details for deposits to be paid into. Lloyds Bank has warned that it received 29% more reports of conveyancing fraud in the second half of last year compared with the first half. It also found that victims lost an average of £47,000 and around 45% of victims were aged 39 or under, signalling that first-time buyers may be most at risk.
This link provides additional information:
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/scammers-steal-home-deposits-in-callous-conveyancing-scams-afGcO5t39f7o
Fraudsters use deepfake videos in many ways – to steal identities, impersonate people you know and pose as famous people to sell dodgy products and investments.
In its 2024 identity fraud report, identity verification company Onfido found a 3,000% increase in the use of deepfake attempts at identity fraud in 2023 compared to 2022. Onfido puts this down to growth in the accessibility of cheap online tools, apps and generative AI.
Verification and authentication company iProov also reported an increase in the use of deepfakes in the form of face-swap technology, which is software that allows you to put someone else’s face over your own in a video. It saw these types of attacks grow by over 700% in the second half of 2023, when compared to the first half of the year.
Last year, the passing of the Online Safety Act made it a legal requirement for platforms to remove harmful content, including scams and frauds. Which? is calling on Ofcom, the regulator responsible for enforcing the rules, to develop a code of conduct that puts robust duties on platforms to detect and take down scams using the Online Safety Act.
How to spot and report a deepfake video
Some deepfake videos are hard to identify, but there are methods you can use:
· Watch out for low quality lip-syncing.
· Pay attention to details and quality – do the hair, lighting and skin tone of the person look believable? Is there any blurring in the video?
· Listen out for strange background noises or robotic voices.
· Look for unnatural facial expressions.
· Check where the video comes from. If it wasn't posted by an official account, you should be suspicious of it.
To report scam videos on social media, select the three dots in the top right-hand corner and then ‘Report’.
If you become the victim of a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud. https://s-url.co/nVYUAA
Message Sent By
Neil Gunnell
(NWN, MSA, Thames Valley, South Oxfordshire)
