Victims conned out of thousands by fraudsters

This month’s update from the #ScamwiseNI Partnership tells you about some of the scams reported to the Police Service of Northern Ireland this month and how to protect yourself.

Sextortion scams

The PSNI have received a number of reports recently from people receiving sextortion emails. The sender claims to have access to their intended victim’s passwords. The scammer also claims to have installed an app on the victim’s mobile devices which allows them to record videos of the victims visiting pornographic sites. The scammer then threatens to cause embarrassment and release the footage if they don’t pay a sum of money. Please don’t be embarrassed to report this type of scam if you’ve been using one of these sites. The email aims to cause fear and distress, scaring someone into paying; but it’s a generic email sent out to a host of internet users. Check out information at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/sextortion-scams-how-to-protect-yourself for more information on how to protect yourself from this type of scam.

PSNI impersonators

Beware of phone calls claiming to be from the PSNI. The police have received a number of reports this month of callers saying they are either Inspector Kirk from the PSNI or an officer from the PSNI Fraud Squad. The callers then ask for money, saying they’ll collect it in person or from a bank account and asking for PIN details. The PSNI has confirmed that a police officer will never call asking for money or personal banking details. If you’re concerned about a call from someone claiming to be from the police, call 101 and they will check it out for you.

Not ‘the business’ at all

A local business recently lost £49,000 to scammers who hacked into their email account and pretended to be their business partner. They therefore had no reason to suspect fraudulent activity when transferring the money into their ‘business partner’s’ account. There is no such thing as being too careful when it comes to transferring money. Always speak to the person you’re dealing with directly by picking up the phone or speaking to them face-to-face.

‘Not a winner’

Lottery win emails are always coming to the attention of Police and Action Fraud. On this occasion, the victim received a Facebook message stating she was the beneficiary of a lottery programme set up in conjunction with Facebook. The message came from a friend’s Facebook account which, unbeknownst to her, had been hacked. She was redirected to another female who asked her to transfer £5,500 into two accounts and told that, on receipt of this, she would receive £80,000. Scammers on this occasion preyed on the good will of friendship to gain the trust of the victim. If you receive messages like this from friends, no matter what platform the message comes on, lift the phone and speak to them or contact someone you trust.

PayPal ploy

We’ve reported many incidents of people being scammed when buying goods online but the focus has mainly been on fake businesses, etc. Recently, the scammers seem to be targeting PayPal. A man told the PSNI that he’d posted items worth £1,600 on Gumtree for sale. They were purchased by an unknown person and payment made via PayPal. The purchaser said he’d paid the courier’s delivery fee of £475, the PayPal transaction and asked the seller to refund him this sum. Thankfully, the seller had the foresight to check his PayPal account before making the lodgement and found that no monies had been sent to PayPal. He contacted the bank and they confirmed that the account was in fact bogus and he was a potentially the victim of a scam. Banks are always happy to check details with you. Thankfully on this occasion no money was lost due to the foresight of the seller.

Holiday Fair

Many of us have started to plan sunshine breaks. Before you go ahead and book, please ensure you’ve taken the following precautions: use a credit card if possible and check that your booking is covered by a consumer protection scheme such as ABTA and/or ATOL. Also, be suspicious of any discount offered for paying by bank transfer a well as requests to complete the booking offsite.

HMRC refunds

Scammers continue to send out emails and texts claiming to be from HMRC and telling people they are due a tax refund. Simply click on the link to claim the refund, the emails and texts say. Never click on the link. HMRC will never inform you about tax returns by email, text or voicemail.

TV licence emails

Scams involving TV licences have also resurfaced. In one recent incident, reported by Danske Bank UK, an older gentleman who was having some difficulties paying his bill, went to his local bank to discuss his options. The bank said they would look into it and ring him back. A few days later, he received a call from someone claiming to be from the bank and they informed him his accounts were hacked and advised him to transfer his money to a different account. Believing the caller was legitimate; he did and subsequently lost £4,400. This was difficult to identify as a scam, as it was a coincidental series of events. Banks and building societies will never ask you to transfer funds from one account to the other or ask you to give your account details over the phone.

#ScamwiseNI

Stay #ScamwiseNI. Don’t be the next victim. If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam. To stay up to date, follow ScamwiseNI on Facebook. You’ll also find plenty of helpful information on the NI Direct website ScamwiseNI page (nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/scamwise).