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Latest online scams to watch out for - Loose Change: Internet security

Loose Change: Internet security

Sky Yahoo Originals

Latest online scams to watch out for

We rundown the latest tricks that online criminals are using to try and get your cash. How to protect yourself »

Ursula Errington on which internet scam to keep an eye out for in 2014, and how to protect yourself from the scammers.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/loose-change-internet-security-110124621.html

Loose Change: Internet security

Sky Yahoo Originals

Latest online scams to watch out for

We rundown the latest tricks that online criminals are using to try and get your cash. How to protect yourself »

Ursula Errington on which internet scam to keep an eye out for in 2014, and how to protect yourself from the scammers.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/loose-change-internet-security-110124621.html

The new scams you need to know about

Here are some of the most devious new ways that fraudsters are trying to use to empty your bank account…
Felicity Hannah – Fri, Aug 23, 2013 16:59 BST

We’ve improved at spotting online scams over the last few years. We know we’ve not won the World Wide Super Lottery.

We’ve come to accept that an exiled Nigerian princess who begins her email with ‘Beloved!’ probably doesn’t want to transfer $32 million into our bank accounts. We’ve even, mostly, accepted that we haven’t won a super yacht.

But as we get smarter at spotting scams, the scammers get smarter too. And with the scammers as desperate to get hold of our money as we are to protect our savings, it’s an arms race of ingenuity.

Here are some of the tricks and deceptions currently being used to try to steal from you. Forewarned really is forearmed.

The false police detective

If I hadn’t read about this scam, I know I would easily have fallen for it. Someone pretending to be a police officer phones your home and says your bank cards have been compromised.

They ask for your card details so they can freeze them – and get you to type your PIN into the phone, which they can record.

If you become suspicious, they ask you to hang up and call 999 to check they are who they say. However, because they stay on the line, they are still connected when you dial another number. They can pretend to be the 999 operative and verify the call is genuine. That’s the genius of this scam.

So you are connected back through to the fake police officer, ready to hand over your details.

According to some victims, the scammers even send a courier around to collect their bank cards and then kept them on the phone until their accounts were emptied and their credit cards maxed out.

See Video: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/money-works-protects-money-152815447.html

The fake bank official

The phoney police officer is a particularly compelling version of this scam, but crooks use this phone trick often. It’s very common for them to pretend to be calling from your bank.

What to do
If you’re verifying a call is from the police, a service provider or your bank then don’t just hang up and call back immediately. Call a number you already know, like a friend or the talking clock – just to check the line really is clear.

The call from ‘Windows Tech Support’

My mother is not a stupid woman; she’s a GP and she uses computers every day. But she fell for a scam where a concerned caller claimed to be from ‘Windows Tech Support’ to check that her computer was virus free.

The persuasive caller talked her through ‘checking’ her machine was virus free, by looking at her Event Viewer, which logs any error reports. It is perfectly normal for errors and warnings to be listed here, but my mother didn’t know and believed the caller when they said these were dangerous viruses.

She allowed the caller remote access to her PC and gave him her card details. Fortunately, her credit card company phoned her to check the enormous payment the scammers were trying to steal and then froze her cards. Making sure her computer was virus and spyware free took a full week.

And it's not just 'Windows Tech Support' that try to get into your computer - I know examples of people pretending to be from BT or offering free "security" scans of your computer.

What to do
Be aware of this clever scam, and don’t be afraid to run an internet search if you get a call that you’re not sure about. Most scams will have already been outed online.

Fictional tax rebates or demands

Unfortunately, the taxman has really played into scammers hands. There has been a lot of press recently about the fact that so many Brits are on the wrong tax code, meaning rebates or tax demands.

Scammers really play on this by sending fraudulent emails pretending to be from HMRC demanding payment or promising to make a payment if you just provide your bank details.

Hyperlinks within these emails take you to official-looking pages, where the criminals will relieve you of enough information to empty your bank account. Sometimes these emails pretend to be from your bank and they can look startlingly genuine.

What to do
A good habit to keep you safe is to never follow links, and to navigate to the official page by using a search engine instead.

The illegal pornography scam

This is really awful, because it frightens people and stops them thinking clearly. You receive a fraudulent email purporting to be from PayPal. It claims that your account has been implicated in an illegal pornography transaction and blocked.

It demands your financial details so it can lift the block and let you avoid a police investigation – and you may be so scared that you comply.

Perhaps you’re frightened you’ve accidentally accessed illegal material while downloading legal content; perhaps you think your PC has been hacked and used for nefarious purposes; perhaps you’re so upset that you don’t think that clearly at all. Instead, you hand over your account details to thieves.

What to do
If you really were in trouble, be it justified or not, handing over your bank details would do nothing to help you get out of it. Don’t let them intimidate you.

What’s the cleverest or worst scam you’ve encountered online? Did you fall for it? Share your thoughts with other readers using the comments below.

2013's top scams
By Matthew Wall | Moneywise

Despite the rise of digital technology, the old-fashioned conman is still at large using simple psychology and plausibility to blag millions of pounds from victims.
The National Fraud Authority estimates fraud costs the UK more than £73 billion a year; but CIFAs, the UK's fraud prevention service, says: "the stark reality is that much fraud simply evades detection."Here are some of the most popular scams currently after your money.

Courier Fraud

This has claimed a reported 2,229 victims in two years, most of them elderly, and is the latest financial scam to be targeted by the Metropolitan police. One victim, it reports, lost £155,000.
Courier fraud involves fraudsters telephoning victims and claiming to be from an authority, such as the police, bank or serious Fraud Office. they say the victim's bank account has been compromised and their card must be collected by courier.
As most people would be suspicious and refuse to co-operate, the fraudster then instructs the victim to hang up and call the authority, supposedly to verify that the caller is genuine.
But when the victim dials the number, the fraudster does not disconnect. the victim thinks they are speaking to someone genuine, when in fact they are still speaking to the fraudster or a co-conspirator. Now the victim is hooked, believing the call to be genuine.
The fraudster then asks the victim to reveal their card's PIN, usually by typing it in on their keypad, and sends a courier to collect the card. Once the card and PIN are in the fraudster's hands, they can use them to raid the victim's bank account.
Commander Steve Rodhouse, the Metropolitan police's lead on organised crime, says: "We want people to question even truly genuine-sounding calls and, most importantly, remember police and banks will never ask for your PIN or bank card, so you should never give these away."The latest financial scams tend to be novel variations on old themes.

For example, 'boiler room' scams, involving high-pressure salesmen cold-calling investors, offering them lucrative-sounding investment opportunities, have been around for decades. What has changed is the nature of the investment schemes on offer.
Toby Parker, spokesperson for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), formerly the Financial Services Authority, says: "A lot of the firms that were involved in bogus share sales or land banking have moved on to other investment schemes and are now selling carbon credits or rare earth metals. It's the same con; different product."

Carbon Credits

Carbon credits are certificates that allow energy-intensive businesses to emit carbon dioxide. Legitimately bought and sold on the secondary market, they were intended to provide financial incentives for companies to reduce their overall carbon emissions. But the sharks have moved into these unregulated waters.
Fraudsters cold-call potential investors claiming this is a 'once in a lifetime investment opportunity' – but often the certificates are not worth the paper they're printed on. "People are literally buying thin air," says Parker. "We're not aware of anyone making any money from carbon credits yet."

Rare Earth Metals

Similarly, investors are being approached by conmen flogging investments in rare earth metals – elements used in the manufacture of mobile phones and computers.
'Brokers' offer to buy and store the commodities on your behalf, promising returns of up to 60% a year. The sales pitch is that such 'rare' elements are bound to go up in price. But these elements are not that rare and there's no guarantee you could sell them back in this private, unregulated market.
The FCA warns: "We are yet to see any convincing evidence that there is a viable market for retail investors to make money from investments in rare earth metals."

Pension Fraud

'Pension liberation fraud' involves fraudsters claiming to be companies from which you can earn cashback, raise loans or invest money by releasing the value of your occupational pension scheme if you transfer the accrued pension benefits to them first, usually abroad.
Some victims are left with as little as a third of their original pension, if they are lucky enough to get anything back at all, says The Pensions Regulator.

Card Scams

Losses due to credit and debit card fraud totalled £388 million in 2012, with crude scams such as 'shoulder surfing' at cashpoints contributing to the increase. Losses from online banking fraud alone rose 12% to £39.6 million in 2012, according to Financial Fraud Action UK, including 256,000 reported phishing attacks.
Phishing is a way fraudsters glean personal data through the distribution of mass emails pretending to come from legitimate institutions and containing links to fake websites. If users click on these links and enter their security details into the fake website, scammers have all they need to raid users' bank accounts.
Some good advice is to hover over suspicious links – don't click on them – and the real weblink will pop up. If it doesn't match, you know not to trust it. And watch out for spelling and grammar – scammers aren't known for their command of English. Whether low- or high-tech, fraudsters are always trying to steal your cash. Make sure you don't become the next victim.

How to protect yourself against financial fraud

• Always be suspicious of cold-callers offering investment opportunities, particularly if they say you have to act quickly.
• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• No financial institution will ever ask for your PIN, either over the phone or via email.
• Never click on links within emails purporting to originate from legitimate financial institutions – you will never be asked to update your security details this way.
• Always keep your firewall and antivirus software up to date. Set it to download updates automatically.
• Never pay money upfront.
• If you don't understand it, don't invest in it.

Useful Contacts

If you are in any doubt about any financial scheme or firm, seek advice from any or all of the following organisations:Action Fraud: 0300 123 2040 Financial Conduct Authority: 0845 606 1234 Money Advice Service: 0300 500 5000

Watch this Video
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/money-works-protects-money-152815447.html

Most common fraud scams to watch out for
By Sophie Christie | Telegraph – 21 hours ago

Almost three quarters of Britons have experienced some type of fraud attempt, according to First Direct. Here are the top five most common scams to watch out for.

The survey conducted by First Direct also found that 55pc of those who had experienced fraud had been targeted online, yet this hadn't appeared to affect consumers as 80pc said they would still purchase online, with 70pc still banking online.

Over 55s were contacted by fraudsters most, while four in 10 of those aged 16 to 24 said they had never experienced a scam attempt.

Most common types of fraud
1. Fake emails: 53pc of frauds were conducted via fake emails claiming to be from a bank requesting personal information, like Pin numbers and account login details.
2. Advance-fee frauds: Advance-fee frauds make up 29pc of the most regular scams committed. Scammers send emails and letters to victims asking for a certain amount of money in order to secure a larger sum.
The Nigerian 419 scam is a common example of this the "419" refers to the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud.
3. Impostor phone calls: Impostor phone calls ( 23pc of the most common types of fraud) claiming to be from well-known organisations, such as broadband providers or software firms. An incident of this was reported recently when an elderly gentleman was conned out of £121 after being targeted by scammers posing as Microsoft.
4. Debit card fraud: Debit card fraud duplicating one or more of your bank cards, makes up 14pc of the most regularly seen types of fraud.
5. Fake lotteries: Fake lotteries also account for 14pc of the most common types of fraud. Victims receive emails notifying them of a large sum of money won in a lottery. Recipients of the scam are often told to contact a 'claims agent' to whom they will pay 'processing fees' or 'transfer charges' in order for the winnings to be paid.

What to do if you have become a victim of fraud

• Change the passwords to your computer, email and any financial accounts, especially bank and credit cards.

• Scan your computer to see if rogue software has been installed.

• Contact your bank and credit card companies if you think your details may be at risk. Ask them to freeze the account and issue a new card.

• If you have lost money to card fraud contact Action Fraud and get a crime reference number. This will help pursue a claim with your bank for lost funds. See actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.