- New ClearScore research finds that nearly half (46%) of Brits worry about falling victim to internet or phone scams – the equivalent of nearly 22 million people
- The figure rises to 49% when worrying about parents and grandparents being at risk
- Worryingly, the new study reveals that 1 in 5 (20%) of people say they have elderly people close to them who have been victims of fraud
- ClearScore offer their top 5 tips on how to stay safe from online and telephone fraud
Gone are the days of being at risk of scams through just telephone cold calls. With more than 9 in 10 (92%) British adults using the internet and another 4 in 5 (83%) using social media, more people than ever before are contactable at the tap of a screen. While living in a digital age has its perks, it also means more of us are at risk of fraud.
In fact, new research from ClearScore has found that nearly half (46%) of Brits worry about falling victim to internet or phone scams – that’s the equivalent of nearly 22 million people. Women are more likely than men to worry about this (53% vs 40%).
However, the research reveals it’s not just ourselves we’re worried about. A greater number of Brits worry about their elderly relatives being at risk too, with 49% saying this. Similarly, women in the UK are significantly more worried about this than men (57% vs 41%).
Worryingly, the new study reveals that 1 in 5 (20%) people say they have elderly people close to them who have been victims of fraud.
With over 500 identities stolen every day in the UK, the ClearScore team offers their top 5 tips on how to stay safe from online and telephone fraud:
- Make yourself and the people you care about aware of the different types of AI scams
AI is set to revolutionise how scammers operate as these technologies make it harder to determine what’s real and what’s not than ever before.
Just a few of these AI scams include:
- ‘Deepfakes’ – Deepfakes are a form of AI used by scammers to create audio and video of trusted people. To do this, scammers will take large datasets of images, videos, and audio clips to replicate the voice – or likeness – of a famous person. They then use software to make the AI version of the person say and do things to trick people into parting with their cash. Martin Lewis is just one of the many people who have been victim to this kind of AI fraud, when, last year, scammers used his likeness to promote an investment scheme.
- Voice cloning – Similar to deep fakes, scammers will mimic a person’s voice from videos posted online and scam their loved ones using the AI-generated voice in a phone call or voice note asking for money.
If you receive a cold call or a voice note from a ‘loved one’ on a number you don’t recognise, do not immediately comply. Check in with that person on their normal number to be sure.
- Be wary when using places like online marketplaces
Everybody loves a bargain, and online marketplaces have become the new go-to place for buying and selling things like second-hand furniture and technology.
However, it’s easy for scammers to upload fake listings to these places, and trick people into sending them money. Some scammers will send fake emails that look like they’re from well-known payment services, confirming that they have paid for the item you’re selling. Similarly, they can send these two as ‘sellers’, with the links asking for money.
Some scammers will also tell sellers that they’re sending a courier to collect the item and send a link to a fake website where they’ll ask the victims to pay for insurance for the safe delivery of the item. However, once the seller enters card details or makes a payment – the scammer will disappear with the info.
To keep yourself safe when buying or selling anything on platforms, try to always collect the item/ have the item collected and ensure all payments are made in cash or direct bank transfer.
- Don’t click on text or email links from people you don’t know
Phishing emails is one of the most common ways to get scammed in the digital age, but now these are making their way into our text messages too. This is known as smishing – or SMS phishing.
If you get a text from what appears to be a delivery service looking for additional details from you, really think about whether you’ve ordered an item or not. We often shop online and lose track of what we’ve actually ordered, so it’s easy for these scammers to catch people out.
These texts usually ask for payments or personal details, which a trusted provider would never ask you to provide. A good way to check if the message is legit is to click on the name ID at the top of the text chain to see the number the text has come from. If it is legit, you will not be able to see a number, but if it is someone posing as a trusted service then you’ll usually be able to see the number it came from.
Some telephone providers are getting quite good at flagging potential scams and spam to their customers, but don’t rely on this – do your own due diligence too.
If you’re still unsure whether the SMS you’ve received is legit, contact the business directly on their verified publicly listed phone number to verify the authenticity.
- Don’t always trust a voice
Telephone scammers will call you unsolicited and pretend to be from an organisation you trust, such as your bank, mobile phone provider, or even HMRC. These scams can be automated, but they’re often from real people, which can make it particularly tricky to determine them as scams. As humans, we’re naturally trusting to the voices of others.
However, these scammers will ask for personal information, such as banking details – or, in some cases, tell the victim they need to transfer their money.
Never share personal or financial information on cold calls from someone. For example, your bank would never call you and ask you to make any payments.
Similar to SMS phishing, if you’re still unsure whether the caller is legit, contact the business directly on their verified publicly listed phone number to verify the authenticity of the phone call.
If you know you’ve received a scam call from someone posing as a trusted provider, report this to the business to help protect others.
- Check if any of your online passwords are compromised
One of the easiest ways for hackers to access your online accounts is when your passwords are compromised on the dark web (the online black market). Similarly, a compromised password could also be when someone shares their password with someone they know or uses an easily guessable password.
ClearScore offers a free Protect service, which users can sign up for free. ClearScore Protect is a free ID monitoring report that allows users to check that their passwords are not compromised on the dark web – all in under 2 minutes.
By knowing if any of your passwords have been compromised, you’ll be able to change your password immediately to protect you from possible fraud. It’s also always wise to add things like multi-factor authentication (MFA) to your online accounts.
MFA ensures that any new logins to your account need to be approved via something like a secret answer or a text code. If the only method of MFA available is a ‘secret answer’ to a security question like “What is your mother’s maiden name”, then always make the answer up!
It’s fairly easy to piece together information like this from social media profiles, so make sure the answer isn’t the real one.
