Lonely hearts broken by ruthless scammers

FRAUDSTERS are becoming increasingly imaginative in their efforts to part people from their cash as financial pressures continue to pile on families across Scotland.

Times of economic uncertainty have always provided a fertile breeding ground for scams. And a potent combination of investment volatility and the government’s austerity measures means more people are vulnerable to fraud schemes that promise the world and deliver nothing.

It’s becoming harder to know what is and isn’t a scam. Last week, police in Tayside revealed that fraudsters purporting to represent them have been cold-calling people and asking for their personal bank account details, and with some success.

It marks the continuation of a trend towards exploiting public trust in organisations including government agencies and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), as fraudsters become increasingly manipulative.

Taxpayers were last week warned to be on the alert for e-mails claiming to be from HMRC telling them they are due a tax rebate. The e-mails ask recipients for their credit or debit card details so HMRC can make a repayment and feature a link to a convincing replica of the HMRC website. Card details are used to access accounts and are often passed to other organised crime gangs, according to HMRC, which said it was told of almost 24,000 such e-mails in August alone.

But they are by no means the only cons that are especially active right now, with share investors in particular being bombarded by cold calls tempting them into buying fake shares. Here are some of the biggest scams currently doing the rounds that you need to look out for.

Boiler rooms

So-called boiler room operations selling bogus shares are enjoying more success than they should as desperate investors are lured in by the promise of an easy windfall. They typically target older investors whose names have appeared on share registers, offering the opportunity to buy “failsafe” shares that are in fact worthless, non-tradeable, very risky or even non-existent. And as the markets have been hit by turbulence, experienced investors keen to make up for losses are increasingly being targeted by boiler rooms. Investors falling for the scam have lost thousands – one boiler room gang jailed recently were guilty of fraud cases worth almost £30 million from some 1,700 victims.

If you get a call out of the blue offering a share-buying opportunity, check if the firm that contacted you is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). To do this, visit www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do or call 0300 500 5000. If the firm that contacted you is not registered, avoid it.

Dating fraud

Research carried out by the University of Leicester last week revealed that more than 200,000 people in the UK have fallen victim to online dating fraud. The scam involves fraudsters taking on fake identities using stolen photographs (often of army officers or models) and developing online relationships with people to the point where the victim is asked for financial help.

Some people have been conned out of thousands of pounds, with the amounts handed over ranging from £50 to £240,000. There were almost 600 victims in the 2010-11 financial year, according to the National Fraud Authority. Most cases go unreported.

Identity fraud

This may finally be on the wane, but at a cost to the UK economy of some £3 billion a year it remains a huge problem. Gangs use various methods to get hold of your credit card details, use your name to take out financial products or access your bank account – from cash machine “skimming” to taking your personal details from social network websites such as Facebook or even raiding your bin.

But there are simple steps you can take to keep such details out of the public domain. Shred any mail with personal details and be watchful at cashpoints. Keep an eye on your mail, because if you’re receiving less than usual it could be due to it being illegally redirected.

If you apply for a new card, contact your issuer if it doesn’t arrive within the designated period. The same applies if your bank statements aren’t turning up, as they are particularly useful for potential fraudsters. It’s also worth checking your credit report to ensure that no accounts or credit cards have been illegally established in your name.

Phishing

This ties in with identity fraud, with the onus on obtaining sensitive personal data, but this approach is more direct and costly. Phishing attacks are e-mails claiming to come from your bank or another financial services provider asking for your financial information. The e-mails, which are often very convincing, usually include a link to a replica of the real organisation’s website.

However, there are some ways to quickly work out whether it’s genuine or not. For example, the sender’s web address is very unlikely to be the same as the organisation’s website – check out the web address by right clicking on it. If it’s a fraud, the address is likely to be almost but not quite the same as the correct web address of the organisation. Also check for a padlock symbol in the browser window, as this indicates whether the site has a security certificate.