Common scams and how to spot them

A so-called tradesperson, often a roofer, driveway builder or gardener, knocks on your door. They say they’re working in the area and have noticed something about your home that needs work or improvements. They offer you their services for cash and say they can start work immediately. You give them the go ahead, but the work ends up being poor quality, overpriced or sometimes never even started.

You get a call from someone who says they’re from your bank or the police. To make the call sound believable they confirm some basic details about you, like your name and address. They tell you:

• there’s been suspicious activity on your account; or
• Your card is due to expire and needs to be replaced; or
• they’re investigating a crime and need your help. They may even ask you to buy something to use as ‘evidence’.

The caller then arranges for somebody to collect money, your card or something of high value that they’ve asked you to purchase, from your home. They tell you a password, PIN or phrase to give to the person collecting the item. But once you hand the items over, you never see or hear off them again.

Someone you’ve never met contacts you through social media, a dating app, email or text message. You get talking and over weeks or months, you build an online relationship with them. You begin to trust and care for them, but suddenly, they start asking for money. They say it’s to help a sick family member, to pay for rent after losing their job or to pay for travel costs to come visit you. But the stories aren’t real and once the money is sent, it’s gone.

You get a call or message out of the blue from someone offering an exciting investment opportunity. It might be in cryptocurrency, shares or property. You start with a small investment, and it appears to do well, so you’re encouraged to invest more money. But as soon as you decide you want to withdraw it, you get no response. The money is gone. They’ve either stolen your investment, or it didn’t even exist, and you’ve been sending money straight to the scammer’s bank account the whole time.

You’re told you’ve won a prize, been approved for a loan or inherited money from a long-lost relative. But before you can get anything, you need to pay a fee. The fee is described as an ‘administration cost' or ‘deposit’ which you’ll get back later. You pay it but nothing happens. The prize, loan or inheritance doesn’t exist.

Other examples include:

• You’re offered a job and told you need to pay a fee to cover background checks or a training course.
• You see a great deal on buying a pet and are told you need to pay a deposit to reserve it before you can see it in person.
• You pay to enter a competition online, but it isn’t real and no prizes are ever drawn.

You get an email, text or phone call from a company that feels real. The message or caller on the phone, convinces you to share personal information about yourself. This could even be through clicking a link and entering a few details on a website. But doing so, means harmful software is installed on your device or you’ve given away enough information for the scammer to access your money.

You come across a QR code on a leaflet, email or while out and about in a public place. You scan it but it downloads harmful software on your device or takes you to a fake website where you enter your personal details and without realising, end up sharing them with a scammer.

You’re contacted by someone you believe you can trust. This could be your bank, the police, HMRC or even a friend or family member. They ask you for personal or financial details, give you reasons to ask for money or tell you your bank account is at risk and you need to move your money to a ‘safe account’.