You might think you would know if you were being scammed, but new, sophisticated ways to trick even the most competent business owners are becoming prevalent.
It pays to understand what to be on your guard against, and how you can protect yourself.
Scams to look out for include:
Account takeover
When criminals pose as a genuine customer to take control of their bank accounts, credit cards, or other financial services. The criminal typically then seeks to steal funds, or use the accounts for personal gain.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud
Criminals pose as a legitimate firm or organisation and convince you to authorise payments to send them money. Some of the common occurrences of APP fraud include:
- Impersonation scams
Criminals contact you pretending to be trusted organisations such as HMRC, your bank or postal services. They mimic genuine, well-known initiatives like new compensation measures. - Investment scams
Scammers poised as financial experts create an illusion of profitability via social media posts, emails, deceptive adverts or chat bots on seemingly legitimate websites. - Romance/Investment scams
Scammers build trust with victims over time, often through romantic links or investment schemes, before exploiting that trust to steal large sums of money. - Invoice scams
Criminals create fake invoices and trick you into sending them money to settle these.
Criminals using the techniques above may also ask for payments in other forms in addition to requesting authorised push payments.
Phishing/vishing/smishing
Criminals impersonate a trustworthy source via emails, phone calls or messaging, to trick you into revealing sensitive data. Copycat security alerts can look and sound real, and may say your account has been hacked or you have limited time before access is lost.
Brand cloning
Online adverts or search engine results using convincing branding elements direct you to fake websites where the products or services don’t exist. Be wary of fake QR codes in emails or in public spaces.
Pension scams
These scams target your lifetime savings via free pension reviews or invites to access your pension early.
Payment in advance scams
Scammers convince you to pay an upfront fee to receive a prize, service, high-value goods or loans that never materialise.
Money-mule schemes
Individuals are tricked into transferring stolen or illegally obtained money, often by being offered a job or financial reward, making them unwitting accomplices in criminal activity.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and new scams are regularly added. More information can be found here.
What should I do?
Sometimes, it is more a question of what you shouldn’t do. If the alarm bells are ringing, we suggest you follow this advice:
Never:
- give out your personal data over the phone unless you are 100 per cent sure you know who you are speaking to
- click on links in emails or texts that you are not expecting
- move your money into a new account at somebody’s request
- share your banking PIN or other online credentials
- use a website if you’re unsure how trustworthy it is
- share your payment details on websites without checking for the padlock symbol in the URL.
- forget that if it looks too good to be true, then it usually is
- take action before checking legitimacy by contacting the organisation or bank directly through their official website
Protecting yourself
To avoid the risks of being targeted, there are steps you can take. But don’t forget, even with the most advanced security in place, you are not immune to a scammer’s attempts to defraud you. If you are ever in doubt, contact the Bank using a trusted contact number.
Always:
- use strong, varied passwords
- update passwords regularly
- set up two-factor authentication (2FA)/multi-factor authentication (MFA). This is a mandatory requirement for Redwood’s online banking access.
- keep devices and apps up to date with the latest software patches
- use public Wi-Fi cautiously
- bookmark websites like Redwood rather than searching every time
- regularly check your account to spot suspicious activity
- check the latest malicious tactics that are circulating by visiting:
- the Government’s Take Five anti-fraud website
- Citizens Advice scam information pages
- FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) scam information pages
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ScamSmart information pages
If you think you’ve been targeted
Unsure about a transaction or second-guessing that phone call you just received? Don’t delay in taking action.
- Contact your bank or account provider immediately to stop any transactions
- Change your password to secure your account
- Consider freezing your credit file so that lenders know to check with you before authorising any new loans or accounts
- Report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about the security of your account.
The information on this page is correct at time of publishing.