Stuart Anderson MP said:
“I have been contacted by constituents in South Shropshire, who are worried about scams and other fraudulent activities. Being the victim of a scam can be very distressing - with emotional as well as financial impacts. These crimes can happen to anyone at any time, so we must all be equipped with the skills and knowledge to deal with them. Scams are also becoming much more sophisticated, which makes it increasingly difficult to identify them. It is vital that any incidents are reported so that they can be thoroughly investigated, and any appropriate action taken. Here, you will find top tips to safeguard ourselves and others from these pernicious activities."
Citizen's Advice
Last year, Citizen’s Advice received some 1,591 complaints about finance-related scams. They found that 7 out of 10 (68%) of people targeted by a scam do not tell anyone about it. This includes friends, family, organisation being impersonated - as well as the relevant authorities. Citizen's Advice runs the Scams Awareness Campaign. This aims to create a network of confident, alert consumers who know what to do when they spot a scam.
Run in close collaboration with the Consumer Protection Partnership, the Campaign brings together key partners in the consumer landscape to identify, prioritise, and coordinate collective action to tackle detriment. It is sharing the following advice:
- Don’t be rushed into making any quick decisions or signing up to financial opportunities – even if you think you might miss out on a good deal. It’s okay to take your time. If someone pressures you, it's probably a scam.
- Never give money or personal details, like passwords or bank details, to anyone you don’t know, trust or have only met online. Be cautious of any unexpected contact.
- Before you buy anything, check the company or website you’re using. Read reviews from different websites, search for the company’s details on Companies House, and take a look at their terms and conditions.
- Pay by debit or credit card. This gives you extra protection if things go wrong
- Make sure your antivirus software is up to date
- Keep your online accounts secure. Use a strong password for email accounts that you don't use anywhere else.
- Be suspicious. Scammers can be very smart. They can appear like a trusted business or government official, have a professional website and say all the right things. Take your time to work out if this is a real organisation. Ask them for ID or contact the organisation on a number you know and trust.
If you think someone might be trying to scam you, take the time to get advice. For help with what to do next, you can contact the Citizen's Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/get-help-with-online-scams/.
Age UK
For many older people it can often be difficult to spot a scam. Age UK's information guide on avoiding scams includes useful tips on what to look out for and which organisations can be contacted in order to report a scam. Age UK also have a dedicated guide on phone scams, with information to help older residents to be aware of any unexpected phone calls and what they can do to protect themselves. Age UK also provides support through their free advice line on 0800 678 1602. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. In addition, Age UK have specialist advisors at their local Age UK's. They provide information and advice to older residents, their carers, relatives, and friends by telephone, email, in writing, or in person.
Independent Age: Scamwise
The 'Scamwise: Spotting, avoiding and reporting scams' advice webpage on the Independent Age website provides a new advice guide from Independent Age, a charity for older people. Visit the scams section of the Independent Age website to download or order the guide and explore their other resources, including a short explanatory animation, quiz, and other advice.
Action Fraud
You should report any scams to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime. Reports received by Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), both of which are operated by the City of London Police as the UK’s lead force for fraud.
They'll give you a crime reference number, which can be helpful if you need to tell your bank you've been scammed and report scams or suspected scams to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. On the Action Fraud website, victims of fraud can:
- Report fraud and cyber crime
- Save and resume a partially completed report
- Track the progress of their report
- Add information to their report
- Download a copy of their report
- Receive an outcome by email
You can register to use this service any time of the day or night. This enables you to both report a fraud and find help and support. Not every report results in an investigation, but every report helps to build a clearer picture of the threat. This contributes to making the UK a more hostile place for fraudsters to operate in and helps to keep other potential victims safe. For these reasons, it remains extremely important the public reports fraud whenever they experience it.
Government Support
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
In 2024, the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) has launched the pioneering “Suspicious Email Reporting Service” (SERS), which makes it easier for people to forward suspicious emails to the NCSC. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to [email protected]. Their automated programme will analyse the suspect email immediately and any websites it links to and test the validity of the site. If found to be phishing scams, they will be removed immediately. If they discover activity that they believe is malicious, they may:
- seek to block the address the email came from, so it can no longer send emails
- work with hosting companies to remove links to malicious websites
- raise awareness of commonly reported suspicious emails and methods used (via partners)
Whilst the NCSC is unable to inform you of the outcome of its review, they can confirm that they do act upon every message received. Your report of a phishing email will help them to act quickly, protecting many more people from being affected. They'll use any additional information you’ve provided to look for and monitor suspicious activity.
The NCSC Cyber Aware campaign is encouraging the public to take the necessary steps to improve their online security. The campaign sets out the six behaviours they can adopt to stay safe. These range from creating stronger passwords using three random words to turning on two-step verification. The campaign empowers and enables the public and micro businesses to understand the best ways to stay secure online. In 2021. the NCSC launched a state-of-the-art tool which creates a personalised ‘Cyber Action Plan’ for small businesses. The Cyber Essentials Scheme provides the basic controls all businesses should implement to protect themselves. Further advice and helpful products include the 10 Steps to Cyber Security and the Cyber Information Sharing Partnership (CISP).
HMRC
HMRC operate a suspicious telephone contact referral service on GOV.UK, provide a suspicious e-mail referral service at [email protected], and a suspicious SMS referral service using the ‘60599’ SMS short code. HMRC operates a dedicated Customer Protection team to prevent, detect and respond to frauds abusing the HMRC brand. HMRC also work closely with the telecoms industry and Ofcom to block malicious phone numbers.
Financial Services Register
As part of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) responsibility to ensure the integrity of UK financial markets, the FCA requires all authorised firms to have systems and controls in place to mitigate the risk of them being used to commit financial crime. Whilst the police have primary responsibility for investigating fraud, the FCA has powers to take a variety of enforcement action against firms which carry out fraudulent activity. The FCA maintains a Financial Services Register. This is a record of firms, individuals, and other bodies that are, or have been, regulated by the UK’s financial services regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and/or FCA. You can use the Financial Services Register to confirm if companies or individuals are legitimate. • ScamSmart is a communications campaign by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) designed to help prevent investment fraud. The ScamSmart information on the FCA website gives investors tips on how to spot the techniques used by fraudsters and hosts the FCA Warning List.• The FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms on the FCA website is an online tool that helps users find out more about the risks associated with an investment and check a list of firms the FCA knows are operating without its authorisation.
The Pensions Regulator
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has robust powers to target mishandling of pension schemes and protect pension savers from losing out to fraud. You can learn more about pension scams, including how to spot the signs and protect yourself and others, on their website. MoneyHelper has guidance on its website to help identify, avoid, and report pension scams. Where fraud does occur, the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF) compensates occupational pension schemes where there has been a loss in the value of the scheme assets due to fraud or dishonesty. Following payment of compensation to schemes, independently appointed trustees can then provide compensation to individual victims. Also visit the Pension Scams Industry Group.
HM Land Registry
Between 2009 and 2023, HM Land Registry prevented more than £340 million worth of property fraud, while over the past five year. Property fraud takes various forms, from bogus landlords letting out properties they do not own to a criminal stealing a property owner's identity and using it to make an application to HM Land Registry to register, for example, a forged transfer or mortgage deed.
Reporting incidents of fraud helps HM Land Registry to stop fraudsters and protect other people from becoming victims. Any experience of property fraud should be reported directly to HM Land Registry through their dedicated Property Fraud Line at [email protected]. Owners who are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage should also register an Anti-Fraud Restriction with HM Land Registry.
Property Alert is a completely free service to help you protect your property from fraud. Once signed up, you will be alerted to certain types of activity on the register, such as an application for an official search (the first step in any property sale) or a mortgage application, enabling you to respond quickly if you spot anything unusual. It only takes a few minutes to set up an account. Just head to the service and enter the required details.
Take Five
Since September 2016, the Government has been running the Take Five fraud awareness campaign designed to urge the public and businesses to take time to consider whether a situation they find themselves in is genuine. The campaign equips the public to more confidently challenge fraudulent approaches – be they face-to-face, on the telephone or online. The campaign has been jointly led by the Government and UK Finance, involving influential partners, banks, and law enforcement to deliver protective messages to people who are most vulnerable to fraud - including the elderly.
Friends Against Scams
Friends Against Scams (FAS) is a National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team initiative which launched in October 2016 and provides scams awareness training either online or face-to-face. The training is designed to help protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to "take a stand against scams". Visit their website to learn more about the initiative, including scam awareness training. Online training and free access to materials are widely available for anyone to use across the UK. More than 500,000 ‘friends’ have been trained.
Get Safe Online
Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading internet safety website. Their website is a unique resource providing practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computers and mobiles device and your business against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other problems encountered online. It contains guidance on many other related subjects too – including performing backups and how to avoid theft or loss of your computer, smartphone or tablet.
Other Support:
- The Consumer Friend website - aims to make consumer rights easy to understand for everyone.
- The Little Book of Big Scams from the Metropolitan Police is a general guide to many of the scams currently operating in the UK. A Business Edition has been designed specifically to protect small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- 30+ Ways to Stop Scams on the Money Saving Expert website guide explains what to look out for, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you're a victim of a scam.
- The JobsAware website - offers free advice and help with problems encountered during the job search. You can visit their website for more information.
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