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Fraudulent investments are being advertised on social media and Action Fraud, the reporting watchdog, says a shocking £3,168,464 was lost to scammers between October 2018 and February 2019. On average, each victim lost a total of £8,900 per person.

Action Fraud want to warn the public about investments being used on social media, especially Instagram. They say young people, aged between 20 and 30 are most likely to be targeted and fall victim. Fraudsters are advertising ‘Get Rich Quick’ investment schemes, promising a high return within 24 hours. They have been asking victims for a initial £600 investment, which they … Read more

A mum of two from Birmingham was left in debt after scammers raided her bank account over a five day long sophisticated scam.

The Mirror reports how Hannah Greaves was tricked by cruel fraudsters who convinced her they were working on behalf of her banks fraud department. The fraudsters built up a credible story over the course of five days and were able to gain her trust, before stealing over £9,000.

Hannah said: “I can’t believe how believable the fraudsters were. They seemed to know my bank, NatWest’s website inside out, the layout of the screens and the language the … Read more

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber reporting centre, is warning half term holiday makers to avoid fraudulent flight ticket sellers.

The reporting service has received 110 reports from victims whose total losses amount to £98,043. Action Fraud say victims are being enticed by offers of cheap flights and getaways this half term.

A new scam

Victims are being cold called by fraudsters claiming to work for travel companies. Action Fraud say the fraudsters are using new tactics to gain the trust of victims. Intelligence suggests they appear to know that the victim has recently searched for flights online. This … Read more

A young woman from Cambridge had £600 stolen from her bank account after she entered her details on a fake holiday booking site. Alex Roberts found a cheap packaged deal for a trip to the Maldives for just £700, which included flights. The deal seemed like an opportunity she could not miss and began to fill in her personal information, but her suspicion was aroused as the deal seemed too good to be true. Instead of confirming the payment, Alex closed the browser, however, days later noticed £600 had been taken from her bank account.

Alex spoke to the Sun … Read more

Action Fraud working alongside the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, has stated that it has seen an increase in reports of this nature over the past six months. Former victims of wine fraud, who were tricked by scammers between four and six years ago, are now being targeted again by individuals claiming that they can resell their wines in return for an insurance or shipping fee. Between 1 June 2018 and 31 December 2018, there were 22 reports made to Action Fraud, with victims losing a total of £97,914. Victims were typically aged between 46 and 86 years old, and sent … Read more

Netflix are warning customers to be vigilant after millions of users are targeted by scammers. The problem has become so bad the US government has issued an official warning about the highly convincing emails asking them to update their payment details, and a version of this scam is seeing users in the UK being also targeted.

Subscribers to the video streaming service have been warned that although the emails appear convincing, not to click on any of the internal links asking them to update their payment information. If users do click on the links, they are likely to have valuable … Read more

The ‘WhatsApp Gold’ scam, which has being doing the rounds since 2016, has surfaced again in the form of a new message.

Action Fraud is warning consumers of another WhatsApp scam being circulated by fraudsters again. In the message, it is claimed that there is a video which will be launched called ‘Martinelli’. The video itself is a hoax and does not seem to exist. The message also warns of links being sent out to sign up for ‘WhatsApp Gold’.

Previous versions of ‘WhatsApp Gold’ messages have included promises of free flights and ‘exclusive’ access to enhanced features such as … Read more

Thousands of fraud reports have been received by the tax authority from students at university and colleges across the UK. Fake emails, which use university addresses in a bid to appear legitimate, may tell people that they are owed money and encourage them to send their personal details. The recipient’s name and email address may be included several times within the email itself and the email will include links that redirect the recipient to websites where their data is stolen. The emails often spoof the branding of HMRC, Gov.UK or credit card branding.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith … Read more

Marriott Hotels and Resorts has been hit with a huge class-action lawsuit over the data breach which saw 500 million customers affected, and that’s just the start. Under GDPR, the hospitality giant could face the world’s first significant fine under the new data protection act.

Despite Marriott being headquartered in the US, the breach falls under European wide GDPR rules, meaning the group now faces financial penalties of up to 4% of its annual global revenue. And in 2017 Marriott generated approximately 22.9 Billion US dollars in revenue last year. The news doesn’t get any better over in the US … Read more

Action Fraud have launched a new campaign to remind the public to be extra vigilant over the Christmas period when shopping for gifts online. Fraudsters looking to take advantage of shoppers, are luring them in with promises of great deals and big savings.

Over the Christmas period last year, fraudsters conned 15,024 shoppers out of more than £11 million and fraudsters are using social media and online auction sites to target people. Action Fraud say that mobile phones were the most common item that people tried to buy from fraudsters. Victims reported being hooked in with bargain deals on popular … Read more