Metro Bank, the UK’s community bank, supports UK Finance’s 2023 Take Five week from 17th April – 21st April 2023. The theme is ‘Seems Legit?’ A challenge to consumers to stop and consider if something just doesn’t ring true – especially if you are being pressured to act quickly.
Take Five is delivered by UK Finance in collaboration with a range of partners including the payments industry, financial services firms and law enforcement because in 20211 over £1.3 billion was stolen by criminals – that’s nearly £2,500 every minute of the day.
Take Five is a national awareness campaign which offers straightforward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.
Despite fraud being the most common type of crime in the UK – accounting for more than 40% of all reported crimes – only 2% of police funding is directed to tackling the problem – so consumers need to participate to help protect themselves.
“No-one believes they will become the victim of a scam, however in the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget the basics around keeping yourself and your details safe from fraudsters”, warns Baz Thompson, head of fraud and investigations, Metro Bank.
“It is human nature to trust people – especially if someone says they’re from a bank – why wouldn’t you believe them? Take Five urges everyone to stop, pause and consider whether the situation is legitimate.”
Take Five has created a punchy reminder on what to do if you’re faced with a scenario where you are asked to make some kind of payment:
Stop – Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money – trust your gut if something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not!
Challenge – Is this person who they say they are? It’s okay to refuse any requests for money and financial or personal details.
Protect –Follow our tips to prevent yourself falling victim to scams. If you believe you have fallen victim to a scam report it to your bank immediately.
Visit Take Five’s website for the latest advice around frauds and scams:
Beware of scams when looking for love online, especially if someone quickly declares strong feelings for you.
Take a moment to #Stop and #Challenge whether the person is who they say they are by reverse image searching their profile picture (possible on the search bar of some image searching engines).
In the first half of 2021 alone, over £15 million was lost to romance scams. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Take Five to Stop Fraud and the Online Dating Association share how to spot the warning signs and keep your savings – as well your heart – safe.
TRUE LOVE OR FAKE PROFILE?
Criminals use information found on social media to create fake identities to target people with scams. They go to great lengths to build fake profiles, often stealing photos. Once fraudsters connect with you on dating sites, social media or gaming platforms, they’ll try to establish a relationship quickly. Many use the promise of buying a house together or getting married to trick you into falling in love with them.
Want to know how to spot a fake profile? Do your research first. You can check if the person you’re talking to is really who they say they are by reverse image searching their profile picture (possible on the search bar of some image search engines).
‘MONEY’ AT FIRST SIGHT?
After gaining your trust and convincing you that you’re in a genuine relationship, criminals then try and persuade you to send them money. Online daters should be aware of the actions fraudsters will use to manipulate them into parting with their money as unfortunately this is becoming more common. 38% of people who dated someone they met online said they were asked for money -. The average amount of money people were asked for was £345, although some were asked for more than £1,000.
Of those that were asked to give or lend money by someone they met online, over half (57 per cent) did so – putting them at risk of falling for a romance scam.
The three most common reasons people were asked for money were:
Claiming they need money for an emergency (37%)
To cover transport costs to visit you if they’re overseas (36%)
To help them make an investment (29%)
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR MONEY
If you’re ever asked for cash from someone you’ve never met in person then alarm bells should start ringing – it could be a scam.Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and the Online Dating Association is advising people how to stay safe from romance scams when dating online:
Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online.
Speak to your family or friends to get advice and share experiences. Friends and family can watch for any change in behaviour.
Profile photos may not be genuine, so you should make sure to do your research first. You can do this by uploading a picture of the person you’re talking to into your search engine to check that profile photos are not associated with another name. Performing a reverse image search can find photos that have been taken from somewhere, or someone, else.
Stay on the dating sites messaging service until you’re confident the person is who they say they are and ensure meetings in person take place in a public place. Online dating platforms have moderation and reporting processes in place to protect daters and remove scammers.
Contact your bank straight away if you think you may have fallen for a romance scam, notify Action Fraud and let the platform on which you met the scammer know about the incident
DODGY DATE?
Criminals are heartlessly targeting people online to trick them into handing over their money as a sign of love.
Stop, and take the time to think about the person behind the profile, get to know your date, and don’t send money to someone you’ve only met online.
Here’s some warning signs to watch out for that your date could be a scammer:
You’ve met someone online and they declare strong feelings for you after a few conversations
They suggest moving the conversation away from the dating website or social media to a more private channel such as email, phone or instant messaging
Their profile on the internet dating website or their social media page isn’t consistent with what they tell you
There are spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistencies in their stories and they make claims such as their camera isn’t working
They refuse to video call/meet you in person
They get angry or try and rush you if you insist on staying on the dating site or ask to meet face to face.
Photos generally tend to be stolen from other people: check by doing a reverse image search and uploading a picture of the person you’re talking to into your search engine
You’re asked to send money to someone you have not met face-to-face, either through bank/money transfer or through the purchase of gift cards or presents such as phones and laptops. You may even be asked to provide them with access to your bank account or card
Upon questioning your friend or family member, they may become very secretive about their relationship or provide excuses for why their online partner has not video called or met them in person. They might become hostile or angry, and withdraw from conversation when you ask any questions about their partner
For more advice on how to stay safe from scams, visit the Take Five to Stop Fraud website and the Online Dating Association set of resources.
Police Scotland is running a major campaign to help people protect themselves from fraud – which has become one of the most commonly experienced crimes in the country.
Cases of criminals exploiting vulnerable and unsuspecting people and persuading them to part with money or personal information are continuing to rise.
During the six-week campaign, in partnership with Take Five to Stop Fraud, officers will also warn that criminals are becoming more sophisticated and convincing in their methods, and taking advantage of advances in technology.
Latest Scottish Government figures show that in 2019-20, fraud increased by 23% and since 2010-11 has gone up by 33%.
In the last year (April 2019- March 2020) there were 11,939 crimes of fraud recorded in Scotland – including many committed online, as criminals use the internet more and more to target victims. An increase of 2,264 crimes the previous year.
Throughout the campaign members of the public and businesses will be encouraged to follow straightforward and impartial advice – Stop, Challenge and Protect – aimed at reducing the chances of becoming a victim of financial fraud. This includes online fraud, email deception as well as phone-based and social media scams.
Essential information will be advertised on social media, digital screens as well as on Spotify.
Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said: “Fraud, in any form, is a despicable and cowardly crime with, often anonymous criminals targeting the most vulnerable people in our communities. We know these faceless crooks will take any opportunity to exploit any situation to their own nefarious advantage.
“We are well aware that fraud continues to rise and want to take the opportunity to warn the public and businesses take a few steps to protect themselves and remain vigilant.
“Our advice is clear and the public should be aware that a telephone call, email or text may not be from the person or organisation it appears to come from. Never click on a link from an unsolicited email or text, and remember that banks, police or other legitimate organisations will never ask you for personal banking information or ask you to move funds to a different account.
“With people spending more and more of their time in the cyber and digital space and the growth of the internet has seen otherwise traditional crimes, such as fraud, being carried out online. Our ambitious Cyber Strategy, published in September, sets a clear direction for how we will tackle the threat, risk and harm from digitally-enabled crimes including fraud.”
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf said: “While levels of crime including those involving robbery, housebreaking and theft have fallen over the last decade, reported cases of fraud have risen by a third over the same period, at a time when we have all increased our use of online and mobile technologies.
“During 2020 we have seen unscrupulous individuals using the lockdown and on-going restrictions as an opportunity to target some of our most vulnerable citizens and exploit businesses. Such criminal behaviour is absolutely abhorrent and the Scottish Government is working with police and other partners to pursue those who cause harm and misery to our communities and to support people to stay safe.
“As we enter the festive season, I welcome Police Scotland’s timely campaign urging people to ‘stop, challenge and protect’ in order to help households, businesses and communities to keep themselves safe and secure this Christmas and into 2021. In addition anyone can sign up to receive trusted alerts and advice from Neighbourhood Watch Scotland on a range of safety and security issues targeted to their local area.”
Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance said: “The banking and finance industry is committed to protecting customers from scams and is working closely with law enforcement and others to target the criminal gangs responsible, with almost £7 in £10 of fraud prevented in the first half of this year.
“Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. Particularly with the impact of Covid-19 and an increasingly digitised society, criminals are ruthlessly adapting their methods to target consumers online, via social media and over the phone.
“These scams are often sophisticated and well-researched: we encourage customers to be wary of unsolicited calls, emails, or text messages and avoid clicking in links in any unexpected correspondence.
“We would urge people to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to keep themselves safe from fraud. Always take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information, and don’t let a criminal rush or panic you into making a decision that you’ll later come to regret.”
Deputy Chief Constable Graham added: “Sadly, during the current pandemic when people have been at home, the occurrence of fraud has also risen. Our management information showed that fraud increased by 45% in the first six months of 2020-21 compared to the same period last year.
“Police Scotland is absolutely committed to working with a wide range of partners to pursue anyone who sets out to cause harm and misery in our communities and make Scotland a hostile environment for them to operate.
“We remain vigilant and I would urge the public to do the same to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.”
