Consumer champion Martyn James has pulled together your guide on how to spot the main types of fraud
Is there anything more depressing than the onslaught of scammers these days? From spam calls to dodgy texts and fake emails, fraudsters seem to be lying in wait at every turn. Well now it’s time to fight back!
I’ll be broadcasting from Glasgow next week as part of the BBC’s Scam Safe week. You can catch me popping up on the TV and radio all week with tips on how to avoid getting tricked, advice on all the latest scams and how to protect yourself against fraudsters.
Why does this matter? Well fraud is big business. According to UK Finance data, last year £1.17billion was lost in fraudulent transactions. However, A further £1.45billion was saved after being prevented from being stolen by the industry. It’s worth pointing out that those are just the cases we know about. Many people who have been ripped off are often too embarrassed to admit what’s happened and seek help.
Last year I had a heart-breaking conversation with an older person who had been defrauded of over £100,000 – her life savings – yet she didn’t feel able to take it further. I’m pleased to say that her bank was able to help her, though the longer you leave it, the trickier it becomes to get your cash back.
Not all fraud is that dramatic. But in these challenging times, we can’t afford to lose any cash, no matter how small the amount is. It’s vital that we all do our bit and report scammers whenever we encounter them. This might mean speaking to your bank about a suspicious transaction or simply reporting dodgy texts and messages as ‘scams’ as and when you get them.
Sadly, there are too many different types of scams doing the rounds these days to highlight all of them. So I’ve put together a guide on how to spot the main types of fraud – and what to do if you think you’ve been tricked.
Be cynical!
Back in the day, an email from a prince or princess from a far off country might land in your inbox, asking if they could possibly let some money rest in your account, in exchange for a cut. Those badly spelled and formatted emails were a bit of a giveaway. But in 2025, fraudsters are much, much more convincing.
You may have heard about ‘scammer farms’ – where thousands of people are forced to relentlessly call or message you to trick you out of your cash. These scam centres process fraud on an industrial scale, using scripts and methods designed to persuade you to hand over money or your details, honed after years of practice.
Meanwhile, pretty much anything can be convincingly faked these days. Someone with minimal technical skills can set up a convincing looking website for virtually no costs. Branding can be faked and contact details spoofed.
The main things you need to be wary of are websites, social media advertisements and groups, text and WhatsApp messages that look like they’ve come from your friends or relatives, or from businesses or authority figures like the police. You might think you are impervious to fraudsters, until you get a message from HMRC saying you owe them £5,000… All it takes is one message that presses your buttons and panics you in to clicking on a link and they’ve got your cash. So treat all unsolicited calls and messages with cynicism – and only contact a business or organisation through its official channels.
Think before you click
Fraudsters are incredibly inventive. The methods they use to defraud you may not change significantly, but the ways they lure you in are constantly changing. Scammers use topical news stories (like security breaches at banks or big businesses), official looking texts and emails, discount offers and events linked to the seasons (like Black Friday sales) to lure or panic you in to following a link or sharing your information.
This kind of scam is designed so you make a split second decision to respond to something designed to provoke a reaction. Fraudsters know that the more time you have to think about something, the less likely you are to fall for the trick. So if you get a text message saying you’re due a refund from the DVLA, they are hoping you’ll click the link without questioning why the DVLA would contact you this way instead of just refunding you.
This type of fraud is extraordinarily varied and widespread, but the end result is the same. If you get an unsolicited email, text or call from any source that asks you to provide personal data or click a link, ignore it. Go to the official website and contact the business or organisation that way.
No one is immune from being scammed. I nearly fell for an email from PayPal recently that was a receipt for a new phone. I’d just been talking about scammers tricking phone companies out of phone handsets, using stolen people’s accounts, so this was on my radar. However, just before I clicked the link to check my account, I noticed that the URL address was ever so slightly different to the official website. If in doubt, walk away from the phone or laptop, make a cup of tea and think it through!
Something on your mind? The scammers know it!
At this time of year, money is often on our minds. You may be worrying that you’ve overspent. Alternatively, you might be thinking about buying affordable gifts for loved ones. And just in to the new year, it’s tax return time!
If you are worrying about your outstanding tax, then an email from fake HMRC might leave you in a fluster if it says you owe them money. Overspent? That text asking you to get in touch that seems to be from your credit card company or bank might make you call the number in the message instead of the official one.
A lot of these messages are guesswork by the fraudsters – after all, if you don’t bank with Lloyds then you aren’t going to respond to a text from fake Lloyds. But just one person in every 10,000 falling for the fake message makes the whole scam profitable.
How to spot a fake retailer
We are increasingly purchasing goods from retailers who advertise on social media. Some of these retailers are ‘legitimate’. However, the quality of goods can be poor.
Just because a retailer is advertising on a well-known search drive or through social media doesn’t mean it’s the real deal. It’s exceptionally easy to fake up a convincing online shop using genuine photos stolen from the official site.
One of the big giveaways that a shop might not be legit is the way it asks you to pay. If they ask you to pay by bank transfer or through PayPal’s friends and family options then that’s a big red flag. These methods of payment should never be used unless you are sure you are sending money to someone you genuinely know. When you transfer cash this way, it’s incredibly hard to get it back. But if pay using a debit or credit card – or the main PayPal/e-payment methods – then the money can be recalled if there is a dispute.
Some purchase scams are from shops operating just on the right/wrong side of the law in other countries. So a new smartphone you’ve just bought for £100 might turn out to be a photo of a phone or an empty box. Ask your bank to ‘charge back’ the money back if this happens to you.
Where’s my package?
This is the peak time of year for package deliveries, so one of the most common scams right now is the ‘missing package’ trick.
Chances are you’ve ordered something online recently. So if you get a message that says that a parcel delivery was attempted and failed then you may, in a moment of annoyance, assume it’s for real. However, when you click the link and you’ll be asked to put in some personal details – that should be your warning sign. There’s another variation on this con that says that you have postage to pay on an item. However, when you go to pay the missing £1.23, the fraudsters have your bank details.
Parcel delivery firms do send you updates by various means of communication. But always use the official website to check delivery status – never click through to a website from a link. The retailer will usually have a ‘tracker’ too so you can check where your actual parcels are.
Email hacks
It’s incredibly frustrating that more often than not, it’s businesses who compromise our data. Hacks on big businesses and organisations are more likely to release password and log in details to hackers, who then use the information to break in to your accounts. Other details are traded on the dark web.
With just one email and password combo, a fraudster can attempt to log in to financial businesses like banks, e-payment systems like PayPal, any retailer you’ve used and saved your payment details with, personal apps, health data and much much more.
But it’s your email that contains your most personal data. Have you ever emailed your passwords to yourself so you don’t forget them? How about a picture of your passport in case you lose it on holiday? In seconds, a scammer can search your email using just those two terms and if they strike gold, they can access all your accounts and even set up bank accounts or mobile phone contracts with your identification documents.
In short, change all your passwords regularly, use password management services if you worry about remembering them or password generators to create something random. It’s also worth going through your emails to delete anything containing your personal data.
False friends and fact checking
If you do get a message or communication that sounds legit, go direct to the business through their official telephone number, website or app. Never use the links or numbers that come with the original notification. If the message has come from someone you know, bear in mind it could be ‘spoofed’ (using cheap technology to make the call or message look like it’s from someone you know) or their email or social media platforms might have been hacked.
Push Payment Fraud
Push payment (APP fraud) is where you are tricked in to either transferring large amounts of money or handing over your bank details by fraudsters pretending to be your bank or the police, who claim your finances have been compromised. If you are called by someone claiming this, then hang up and call your bank direct or dial 159 – a number from Stop Scams UK that connects you to your bank or even businesses like Amazon – if you can’t find the number you need in time. Courier fraud is a variation on the con where someone in authority turns up on your doorstep. Fraudsters have even been known to walk people to their banks to transfer their life savings.
Conveyancing fraud works by hijacking your email or that of solicitors, mortgage brokers or anyone who might be involved in a large transfer for a house sale or business transaction. This is harder to combat but if you change your email and work passwords regularly – particularly if there’s a large payment on the horizon – and warn all people involved not to change the payment details without checking, then you should avoid a hefty loss.
If you think you’ve been conned…
If you think you’ve been defrauded, then contact the bank or business asap. Don’t forget that you can go to the free Financial Ombudsman if you don’t think a financial business has treated you fairly. Even if you’re not sure if you have a case, you don’t lose anything by trying.
- Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist
