Protecting against scams and fraud

Doorstep criminals, such as rogue traders, cowboy builders and gardening scammers, cold call households offering deals to get you to agree to having work carried out.

If you accept work from a doorstep criminal, you may pay much more than you intended for very poor, unnecessary and sometimes dangerous work.

Paperwork is rarely provided. Advance payments are often demanded. Names, addresses and business details can be false. Phone calls might not be answered.

Never let a stranger who knocks at your door uninvited work on your house or garden.

Safety tips

• Be patient – good tradespeople typically are not available to start immediately. Be wary of any tradesperson who can start quickly or says they have just had a cancellation.
• Get genuine recommendations from people you know and trust. Do not post messages on social media asking for a tradesperson – rogue traders use these platforms.
• Try to get three independent quotes, making sure the quotes are detailed and give firm prices not estimates.
• Agree on start and expected completion dates and set up a payment plan. Never pay large deposits upfront.
• Do not rely on guarantees offered by trader approval sites. These are often limited to small amounts and will not cover the cost of putting things right if the works go wrong.
• Understand the requirements around planning and building regulations.
• Make sure you get everything in writing.

To report a rogue trader, find your local Trading Standards office.

Businesses might receive email invoices for services or products that were never ordered, in an attempt to trick them into making payments to fraudulent accounts.

The invoice might say the due date for the payment has passed, or threaten that non-payment will affect credit rating.

Red flags to look out for

• Examine the formatting and quality of invoices for inconsistencies and errors
• Cross-check suspicious invoices against genuine purchases
• Be wary of requests using urgent language or trying to pressure you

Stop and think before taking action.

Impersonation fraud is where criminals impersonate people or organisations the public naturally trust, such as the police, banks, or government departments. Their aim is to create panic, urgency, or fear so that victims act quickly without questioning the request.

They contact victims claiming there is a problem with their bank account, suspicious activity on their card, unpaid tax, or even asking them to help with a police investigation.

To appear convincing, they often use spoofed phone numbers, official-looking emails, and personal information gathered from other sources.

Victims may be instructed to transfer money to a ‘safe account’, buy gift cards, share security codes, provide sensitive banking information or send money in the post.

They may instead be asked to withdraw cash, buy gold, high-value goods, or foreign currency for collection by a ‘courier’. In reality, the money and information are being handed directly to criminals.

To protect yourself always double-check that you have made your own verification as to whom you are speaking to. Never open any suspicious links in messages you receive from people you do not know or trust.

If you are unsure about a link to a website, do not click on it. If the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research on a website and go with your instincts.

To protect yourself:

• look for “https://” and the padlock icon in the address bar
• avoid carrying out any financial transactions over unsecure connections, such as public Wifi
• make sure you have effective and updated anti-virus or anti-spyware software and firewall running before you go online
• double check the website address, looking closely for errors in spelling or inaccurate characters in the URL
• check credit card and bank statements carefully after shopping to make sure the correct amount has been debited, and also that no fraud has taken place as a result of the transaction

Be extra cautious when buying items online.

Most romance scams start on social media platforms or dating apps. The scammers create fake profiles to try and build coercive and manipulative relationships with potential victims.

They often encourage victims to move the conversation away from the initial platform to less-monitored channels, such as WhatsApp or Telegram, before asking for money.

Criminals will often invent emotional back stories to encourage victims to send funds, even encouraging them to take out loans or financial agreements.

The Online Dating and Discovery Association offers more advice on how to Date Safe.

Red flags to look out for

• The victim and suspect have never met in person.
• Communications are conducted only via third-party communication apps.
• The suspect claims to live or work overseas.
  • If the fraudster is pretending to be male, they often claim to be in the military, on an oil rig, or in a medical professional overseas.
  • If the fraudster is pretending to be a female, they often claim to be struggling to pay for food, rent, or they need rescuing from a dangerous lifestyle or relationship.
• The suspect is not able to video call and makes various excuses as to why.
• Early declarations of love or commitment.
• Requests to move conversations off the original platform quickly, usually from dating or social media site to a communication app.
• Requests for money, gifts, or financial assistance, including gift cards or cryptocurrency.
• Requests for payment, such as tax or customs charges, for a valuable package to be delivered to the victim.
• Requests for legal expenses to be paid so that an inheritance can be released.
• Claims of emergencies or urgent needs, such as sick family members, medical emergencies, or to be granted leave from their job
• Pressure to keep the relationship or financial requests confidential.
• Repeated excuses preventing face-to-face contact – there will always be a new reason why they cannot meet and need more money.

Fraudsters sometimes create fake social media profiles using the identities of celebrities and well-known public figures.

The fraudster targets followers of official fan pages, looking for individuals who engage with posts through comments or reactions, before making contact through a fake account.

They use photos of the celebrity, claiming their verified or official profile is controlled by their management company, and the private account is the only way they can communicate personally with fans.

As the relationship develops, the fraudster may eventually request money for purposes such as a ‘VIP membership’, a ‘meet and greet’ opportunity, exclusive access, or other fabricated reasons.

In some cases, they claim their finances are temporarily inaccessible, often due to restrictions imposed by their management team, and ask for financial assistance, promising to repay the money at a later date.

The victim may also be in communication with the ‘management team’ regarding these issues. The funds are never returned, and any promised meetings, special access, or exclusive opportunities do not exist.

Like many romance scams, celebrity impersonation frauds are often romantic in nature and rely on trust and emotional manipulation.

Investment fraud happens when criminals trick people into investing money in opportunities that are fake, misrepresented, worthless or non-existent. They often promise high returns with little or no risk, creating the illusion of a lucrative opportunity.

To appear credible, fraudsters may direct victims to well-presented websites or send professional looking paperwork relating to these fictitious investments, maintaining regular contact throughout the process.

Investment fraud can be particularly difficult to identify because criminals frequently impersonate legitimate financial firms, meaning that when a victim attempts to verify the investment, it may initially appear authentic.

These scams are commonly known as clone investment frauds. To build confidence and encourage further investment, fraudsters may initially provide small payments that appear to be investment returns.

This can reassure victims the investment is genuine and persuade them to invest much larger sums. However, once significant funds have been transferred, victims who attempt to withdraw their money are often met with excuses, requests for additional fees or taxes, delays, or a complete loss of contact with the fraudster.

Cryptocurrency investment fraud

Cryptocurrency investment fraud is where criminals are increasingly trying to persuade people to invest money into fake cryptocurrency opportunities or trading platforms.

These scams often promise high returns, guaranteed profits, or exclusive investment opportunities, exploiting the growing popularity of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Victims may initially receive small amounts of money, creating the impression that the investment is genuine and increasing their confidence in the platform. However, the profits are fake and designed to encourage more investment. 

‘Pig butchering’

A particularly harmful form of investment fraud is known as “pig butchering”.

These scams often begin as a romance fraud, with the criminal taking time to build a close personal relationship with the victim and gain their trust. Once that trust has been established, the conversation gradually shifts towards investing.

The fraudster will claim to be an experienced and successful investor, often boasting about living a lavish lifestyle, who can help the victim generate significant returns.

This false narrative has a secondary motive, which is convincing the victim that the relationship is genuine rather than a romance fraud. By appearing financially secure and showing no interest in the victim’s money, the fraudster lowers the victim’s suspicions and strengthens their trust.

Victims are then persuaded to invest through fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms, believing they are receiving expert guidance from someone who genuinely cares about them.

Recovery fraud

Recovery fraud occurs when criminals target individuals who have already lost money to a scam, falsely claiming they can help recover the funds. They try to exploit a victim’s understandable desire to recover their losses and seek justice.

In many cases, the fraudsters are also responsible for the original investment scam, although they now pretend to be legal representatives, recovery agents, financial regulators, law enforcement officials, the bank, or specialist firms that can assist the victim.

The victim may be contacted unexpectedly and told their lost funds have been traced or recovered, and they need to pay a fee before the money can be released. However, no funds have been recovered, and any extra payments made by the victim are also stolen.

Victims maybe targeted with a recovery fraud months, or even years, after the original scam. Victims may be contacted multiple times by different individuals or organisations, all falsely claiming they can help.

Inheritance fraud occurs when criminals contact victims claiming they are entitled to receive money, property, or assets from the estate of a deceased distant relative sharing their surname.

They are told that, because the deceased had no will, a large amount of money will pass to the state unless it is claimed. But, they insist that legal fees, taxes, charges, or transfer costs must be paid before funds can be released.

Criminals often create a sense of urgency and secrecy to prevent victims from seeking advice or verifying the claim. The reality is that there is no inheritance, with the relative being completely fictitious.

The scam is designed to steal money, personal information, or both.

Lottery and prize draw fraud occurs when criminals contact victims claiming they have won an extravagant amount of money from a lottery, competition, prize draw, or giveaway they never entered.

Most commonly, the victim is contacted by someone claiming to be from an overseas lottery and will be told to keep the win a secret. They will often receive convincing paperwork in the post.

The fraudster’s goal is to convince the victim to pay fees or provide personal and financial information in order to claim the supposed prize.

Fictitious fees are disguised as administration charges, taxes, insurance costs, courier fees, or processing fees. In reality, there is no prize and any money sent will be lost.

Like inheritance fraud, the fraudster will create what feels like a meaningful friendship with the victim with daily communication. There will always be “one more payment” between them and the life-changing sum of money.

Look out for behavioural changes that may be out of character or develop gradually over time, including:

• frequently mentioning a new online friend – this could be a romantic partner, companion, investor, or business contact they have never met
• spending a lot of time on their phone, computer or tablet – fraudsters have constant contact with their victims and it is an important part of the grooming process
• becoming secretive and withdrawn – fraudsters will tell victims not to discuss the communication with anyone and will try to isolate them, fearing other people would encourage them to cut contact
• appearing anxious, stressed and preoccupied or a change in personality – individuals in a long-term fraud can become consumed by it, impacting on stress levels, mental wellbeing, and placing considerable strain on relationships
• becoming defensive and angry when concerns are raised – fraudsters tell victims that anyone questioning their communication is jealous or unsupportive, and concerns raised by loved ones are often rejected

• Frequent trips to the bank.
• Unexplained withdrawals from their bank account.
• Frequent transfers to new or unknown recipients.
• Purchasing gift cards.
• Buying cryptocurrency.
• Taking out loans and/or credit cards.
• Opening new bank accounts – particularly online based banks.
• Asking family and friends to borrow money.
• Selling possessions or accessing savings unexpectedly.
• Struggling to buy essentials, such as food.
• Talks of taking out equity from or selling their home.

• Claiming they need to pay fees to release money, prizes, inheritances, or investments.
• Stating that a bank, government agency, police officer, or company has asked them to move or send money, or buy gift cards.
• Discussing ‘guaranteed investment returns or opportunities that seem too good to be true.
• Believing they are helping someone they have never met through a financial emergency such as travel costs, medical bills, or business problems.
• Mentions of a romantic relationship where the person is overseas – this relationship may involve early talks of marriage and there will be various extravagant circumstances ongoing which prevents them from meeting.
• Making excuses for why the person cannot video call, such as security restrictions of their job and/or being overseas.

Certain apps should raise suspicions but it is important to stress the apps themselves are not fraudulent, but fraudsters commonly exploit certain apps to defraud people.

It is not always clear what an app is at first glance, but a quick internet search of the name of it should help determine this. Be aware fraudsters can also create fraudulent apps that will not be visible in the app store, like fake banking apps or cryptocurrency platforms.

• Dating apps – These are frequently exploited by fraudsters who create a fake dating profile, often involving the use of stolen photos and fabricated personal information.
• Social media apps – Many fraudulent communications begin on social media. Your loved one is more at risk of being contacted by a fake profile if their privacy settings are not secure.
• Chat apps – Once contact has been established through social media or a dating platform, fraudsters will often urge their victims to continue chatting on a private messaging app, usually because encrypted messaging can make their activities harder to detect.
• Remote access apps – By persuading a victim to install remote access software, criminals can gain visibility of the victim’s screen and take direct control of their device, accessing their most sensitive information, such as emails, passwords or online banking.
• Cryptocurrency apps – Fraudsters are increasingly using cryptocurrency platforms as part of their scams, as their features – such as fast transfers, limited recoverability, and a degree of anonymity – make them attractive to criminals. They will be encouraged to buy cryptocurrency and transfer it to a wallet controlled by the fraudster.

If your loved one ever mentions purchasing gift cards or you see gift cards around their home, this is a huge red flag. Fraudsters have adapted their tactics and frequently request payment through gift cards instead. It is extremely rare that we go to visit a victim who has not been asked to buy gift cards.