Facebook is where people connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way: buying and selling with each other. This activity started in Facebook Groups and then Meta introduced Marketplace, a convenient destination to discover, buy and sell items with people in your community. Anyone with an active Facebook account can list or buy items with no hidden fees, however there has been a recent increase in people getting scammed when shopping for things like cars, tickets and clothes on Facebook Marketplace.

Fraudsters pretend to be genuine sellers

Social media and online marketplaces often fail to stop fraudsters from offering items for sale. Fraudsters may seem like other sellers, appearing friendly and giving away personal details to make you believe they’re genuine. All they want is for you to send money to their bank account. Fraudsters won’t let you pay by card or another way that protects your money.

Here are some things to look out for:

Is it too good to be true?
•	It’s not a bargain if it never turns up.
Do you have to pay right away?
•	A genuine seller won’t pressure you into a quick sale.
Can you meet the seller in person?
•	Look for things nearby so you can check the item before you pay.
Will they let you pay by card?
•	Never pay by bank transfer. Pay by debit or credit card to protect your money.

The most common items fraudsters sell

Fashion

Popular items like designer clothes and trainers are favourites for fraudsters to sell.

Can you pay by card? Is the item available elsewhere at the same price? If not, it could be dodgy.

Vehicles

The DVLA website lets you check a vehicle for free.

Before buying a vehicle, inspect it and have a test drive. The vehicle may be genuine but the advert could be fake.

Fraudsters often promise to deliver a vehicle or a vehicle part if you pay upfront.

Tech

Computers, game consoles and smart phones may be cheap for a reason.

Be suspicious if you can only pay by bank transfer.

Holidays

Avoid a holiday or rental nightmare.

Genuine companies are protected by ABTA or ATOL.

Be suspicious if someone wants you to pay outside a booking site.

Use your card to protect your money.

Tickets

Tickets for sold out or popular shows and events may tempt you.

Always pay by card or a payment service that offers buyer protection.

And only buy from ticket companies or sites registered with The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR).

Spotting fraud and scams

While fraud and scams are not new, advances in technology give criminals more ways to attempt to access your money. Getting to know the techniques they use can help you protect yourself and your money.

Fraud or scam?

In everyday use, the words fraud and scams are used interchangeably. However, we think it’s useful to use clear definitions.

Fraud happens to you, scams happen with you.

Examples of fraud would be having your card skimmed, identity theft and computer malware which steals your details. In these cases, you’re not aware of what the criminals are doing and haven’t given your authorisation.

Examples of scams would be where a criminal attempts to convince you to send them money, give away access to your bank details or launder money. Scams actively involve you as the account owner and work through engineering a situation to make you believe it’s genuine, so you give your authorisation.

Below are some of the most common types of fraud and scams.

Remote access scam

Remote access scams attempt to convince you to allow them access to your Online Banking. These are often cold calls from scammers who say that they’re from telecommunication or computer companies or (for businesses in particular) an IT department or Technical Support.

The warning signs are:

• a cold-caller says they can fix your slow computer or refund you money
• an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from your IT department or Tech Support
• the caller asks you to give permission for them to remotely access your computer
• the caller asks for your banking or personal details.

These callers will ask you to log on to your Online Banking, to check it’s not been impacted by the fault, and then attempt to remotely access the computer to ‘help’ you with the problem.

Giving anyone remote access allows them to release malicious software and gain access to personal data.

Cash machine skimming

Using a cashpoint is easy, convenient and almost always safe. But sometimes criminals tamper with cash machines to steal your card information, or PIN.

Here are a few things to look out for when you use a cashpoint.

• A device might be placed over the card slot which scans your card details, or a fake keypad may have been placed over the top of the real one. Look out for parts of the cashpoint machine that appear a different colour or material to the rest.
• Tiny cameras the size of a pinhead can be drilled into cash machines which photograph you and your card while you take cash out. Look out for damage or possibly stickers that could be trying to cover up damage where holes have been drilled.
• Someone could simply be looking over your shoulder while you’re taking out cash to try and see your PIN. Then they find a way to take your card by distracting you.

Keeping yourself safe at the cashpoint:

• if the cash machine looks like it has been tampered with, don’t use it
• when entering your PIN, cover it with your hand
• look out for anybody standing too close or trying to distract you.

You can find an A-Z of fraud and scams on Action Fraud’s website

BT scam emails are attempting to capture your card details. Here are the common phishing tactics you need to watch out for.

An increase in the number of BT scam emails purporting to be from BT has led to a warning from Action Fraud. Have you received one of the fakes?

Last month Action Fraud stated that it had received 676 reports in just two weeks regarding the latest scam emails pretending to be from BT.

Like with most phishing emails, the scammers’ goal is to get you to follow a link to a phishing website that will then attempt to steal your bank/card details.

WHAT DO THE SCAM BT EMAILS LOOK LIKE?

In these cases, the scammers are relying on their fake emails to find their way to genuine BT customers. They state that ‘your monthly bill is ready’ and instruct the recipient to ‘pay’ that bill by clicking through to a fake website.

The emails and the website have nothing to do with BT. If you enter your card details on these sites to ‘pay’ a bill then you will have given your information directly to fraudsters.

While many fake emails rely on a sense of urgency or panic, the tactics behind this email are entirely based on appearing genuine. If you’re expecting a bill from BT then the straightforward nature of the email’s request may be enough to catch you off guard.

HOW CAN I SPOT A FAKE BT EMAIL?

If you are a BT customer and you’ve received an email out of the blue requesting payment do not interact with it. BT states that it will never ask customers for private/personal details or banking information out of the blue.

Rather than follow links in emails claiming to be from BT, instead, log in to your BT account via its official site. Do this entirely separately from the email and be sure you’re not following any links.

If you remain unsure whether you have a bill to pay or you think there may be issues with your account then contact BT directly to check.

I THINK I’VE BEEN SCAMMED BY A FAKE BT EMAIL: WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If you think you may have entered sensitive information, such as your bank/card details, into a third-party site you were taken to by a suspicious BT email, you must let your bank know what’s happened via its official channels ASAP.

You can report a scam and get your money back. Your bank should work with you to cancel your card, block any pending payments (if required) and refund the money you’ve lost.

You should also then keep an eye out for any follow-up scams that could occur if you’ve given contact details, such as your email address, postal address or phone number away to fraudsters. Treat any contact you receive out of the blue with caution.

HOW CAN I REPORT BT SCAM EMAILS?

Emails that impersonate BT can be forwarded directly to the brand on phishing@bt.com(opens in new tab) 

Fake emails and phishing websites can also be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre at report@phishing.gov.uk(opens in new tab) – action can then be taken to remove these websites.

If you’re going to warn friends and family about a scam, send them a screenshot instead of forwarding suspicious emails directly.

BT customers can also go to www.bt.com/scams(opens in new tab) to get advice on how to spot and handle a scam call, email or text. 

HSBC UK has revealed the three most common types of scams it’s seen reported by its customers. We explain what they look like and how you can avoid them. 

Scammers are constantly looking for new ways to con us and steal our money, from fraudulent investments and online shopping cons to masquerading as your bank or even pretending to be from Apple. 

Scammers stole more than £1.3bn from people in the UK in 2021 amid surge in online fraud, new data shows according to the research from the banking industry organisation UK Finance.

Here, we look at some of the most common scams right now and tell you how to avoid them.

COMMON ONLINE SHOPPING SCAMS 

The most common scams of all is a purchase scam, HSBC UK has found. When you are tricked into paying for non-existent or dodgy goods and services in advance. 

Alarmingly, there’s been a spate of scammers falsely advertised vehicles online more and more, which is costing victims thousands of pounds. 

A 30 year-old  from Newcastle, fell victim to a purchasing scam. He was looking for a cheap run-around after his old car failed its MOT.

He found a Renault Clio on Gumtree which seemed to be in good condition, but then Craig learned the car’s history after buying it. 

It turned out that the car had been written off as a Category C insurance write-off. Craig only found out about this when he hired a hire purchase investigation check which confirmed the vehicle was a write off. He lost £1,652 in total.

HOW TO AVOID A PURCHASE SCAM WITH VEHICLES  

• Always try to see the car in person rather than trusting an online source such as Gumtree or eBay
• The car history checker online on the government website is always useful to find out if the vehicle has ever been written off and its insurance history
• Consider how old the car is and the mileage. It should give you an idea of how much that car should cost, if it’s suspiciously cheap or over priced, move on

COMMON IMPERSONATION SCAMS  

This type of scam is easy to fall victim to, when someone impersonates an organisation such as a retailer or bank.  

Many of us are familiar with impersonation scams. Fraudsters pretending to be Royal Mail or the Post Office over text messages are common, and HSBC UK is now seeing a rise in calls from people claiming to be Amazon. 

They have also seen an increase in fraudsters impersonating the HSBC UK fraud team, where they may tell you your account is at risk. 

When the scammer tells you to move money into a ‘safe account’, this is a red flag. 

David Callington, HSBC UK’s head of fraud, said: “HSBC UK will never ask you to move money to a safe account or disclose your one time passcode. Likewise we would never ask you to delete your mobile banking app. If someone asks you to do any of these things, hang up right away, it’s a scam.” 

HOW TO AVOID AN IMPERSONATION SCAM 

If you’re contacted unexpectedly, it’s important you’re sure it’s legitimate. Contact the firm claiming to have contacted you to verify it’s real claims to have sent it to check.

Use the official contact details listed on the company’s website or documents you might have been sent, if it’s your bank then you can usually find its official number on the back of your credit or debit card.

WHAT IS AN INVESTMENT SCAM?  

With an average loss per case of £14,173, investment scammers are amongst the most devastating.

The Money Edit’s editor, Kalpana Fitzpatrick, says: “Investment scams can be difficult to spot and can appear legitimate, but often they are run from what’s known as boiler rooms, trying to get people to part with large sums of money to ‘invest’ on something that does not exist or is worthless.

“The key thing to remember is to be wary of anyone that is promising you a big payout, and alarm bells should also ring if you are put into a situation where you are pressured into making an on-the-spot decision”, she adds 

These scams incur the biggest losses according to Callington: “An investment scam usually looks like this: you receive a random call or message regarding an investment that ‘you can’t miss’. 

The scammer then keeps contact with you over a period of months, even years to get as much money out of you as they can. 

“With the cost of living sky-high, it’s no surprise people are lured in by schemes promising low risk for high returns. The general rule is that if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Callington added.

HOW TO AVOID AN INVESTMENT SCAM

• As The Money Edit’s Fitzpatrick advises: “Before you part with any cash, always check the FCA’s (Financial Conduct Authority) warning list for known scams to see what investments are regulated and to check for known scams.”
• Reject random calls or unexpected offers. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

HELPFUL TOOLS TO HELP YOU STAY SAFE 

As scams are rising, so are online tools to help you. At The Money Edit we recommend using Check a Website to check if a site is genuine.

Scammers use whatever means they can to try and get sensitive data from you. They can fake their phone numbers, pretending to be a trustworthy person from a well-known company, and even create official-looking social media accounts. They’ll often seem friendly, polite and professional, but as soon as they put you under pressure and ask you to act immediately – be suspicious.

Calls, emails and texts

In doubt whether a call’s genuine or not? It’s best to hang up.

Social Media

This is the latest way scammers will try to get you. If you’re contacted by an official-looking account asking you to click a link or for personal information, stop and think. If it’s Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, is the account verified? Is the company name spelt correctly in its username? Does its follower count seem likely for a major brand? All of these things can help you suss out a fraudulent account.

Worried you could’ve been scammed?

If you ever think you’ve been the victim of fraud – whether you’ve given your details over the phone or clicked a dodgy link in a text or email and shared sensitive info – don’t panic. Here are some things you can do:

1. Get in touch with your bank if you think you might have given out any financial info – they’ll try to recover any money you’ve lost
2. Change your account password(s)
3. Call 159 to chat to most UK banks confidentially if you’re concerned you’ve provided your contact details to a scammer
4. Ring Action Fraud (the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime) on 0300 123 2040 or use their online reporting tool at reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting

Check who it’s from

It may look like a real email from a business you use, but if you hover over or right-click the sender’s name, you’ll be able to see the email address it has actually been sent from. The sender’s name may look legitimate, but often the email address will contain a small spelling error or could simply be a random assortment of numbers and letters.

Spelling or grammar mistakes

It’s no longer a given that fraudulent emails will be riddled with errors, but it’s still surprisingly common in phishing emails. Other things to look out for: is the email consistent in how it looks? Is there a mix of US and UK English? Does it use different font styles or even random sizes? These are all things that may signal it’s not genuine.

Small mistakes and style issues

Often scammers will mimic official-looking emails in an attempt to get you to part with your data. But check the little details the fraudsters might have missed. Are the copyright dates correct? Is the brand logo an old or discontinued version (or pixelated)? Does it match the style of previous emails you’ve had from the company or business?

Asking for personal details

Always remember, we’ll never (ever) ask you for sensitive infomation. So if you get an email asking for such details, or requesting you click on a link to supply them, it’s a red flag. Do not provide any personal information or click on any link in an email you’re unsure about. Such links may contain viruses that can infect your computer or even install ransomware.

Your urgent attention is required

Scammers will also stress the urgency of your actions in the hope you don’t take the time to check whether it’s real or not  – for example, saying your account is about to be closed, or that there is a payment issue on your account. Do not click the link. Instead, to check the status of your account.