Scams and Frauds.

Introduction

There are many variations on scams which often start with unsolicited mail sent by post, over the phone or via e-mail, but however they operate, they are all designed for the criminals to make money at your expense.

Scams may tell you that you are entitled to money (often through a lottery prize); or that you are the unexpected beneficiary of a will; or seek your help in moving money out of another country.

Scams often have similar features that may alert you to the fact that they are not genuine.

• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
• You are asked for money up front to pay unexpected fees (such as customs) before your 'prize' can be released.
• You are asked to provide your bank account, credit card details or other sensitive personal information.
• You are put under pressure to reply immediately or the money will be given to someone else.

You are asked to keep the details secret.

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone else, without your knowledge uses your personal information. This can include your name, national insurance number, credit card number of any other financial information, without your permission to support criminal activity, which could involve fraud, deception, or obtaining benefits and services in your name.  Including renting properties in your name, applying for a credit card or commencing a mobile phone contract.

You may not find out about the theft until you receive a credit card statement or report or you are contacted by debt collectors.

It is estimated that more than 100,000 people are affected by identity theft in the UK each year, costing the British economy over £1.3 billion annually.

As part of the government’s work on identity cards and identity fraud reduction, which often underpins serious and organised crime, information on how you can avoid becoming a victim of identity fraud is provided. Please view this site, http://www.identitytheft.org.uk/ for information on how you can help protect yourself, get advice on what to do if it happens to you and get details from where to get further help.

How do thieves steal an identity?

• Bin diving: they go through bins looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it
• Skimming: they steal credit or debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
• Phishing: They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
• Changing your address: They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.
• Stealing: They may still your wallet, mail, cheques  or any other personal information
• Pretexting: They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information (for example, a pretexter may call, claim he's from a research firm, and ask you for your name, address, birth date, and national insurance number)

To reduce the possibility of your identity being stolen, follow these simple but not exaustive steps:

• Regularly get a copy of your personal credit file from a credit reference agency
• Royal Mail offers a redirection service to help prevent identity fraud when you move house
• If you move house, tell your bank and credit card company immediately
• Cancel any lost or stolen cards as soon as possible
• Keep your personal documents in a safe place
• If your passport or driving licence has been lost or stolen contact the organisation that issued it
• Don't use the same password for more than one account and never use banking passwords on other websites. Avoid using your mother's maiden name or dates of birth as passwords.
• Shred personal information that you would not want to share with a stranger, including bank statements, utility bills, taxation notifications and mail received through the post.
• Don’t leave sensitive information out for prying eyes
• Office life can be busy with lots of people having access to your work area protect your personal information.
• Check your bank and credit card statements through when you receive them, if there’s anything unusal or suspicious, contact your bank immediately.
• If you are expecting correspondence from your bank and it doesn’t arrive contact your bank to advise them of your concerns.

To open a bank account is a fairly simple process and the high streets have a number of companies that will cash cheques for an individual willing to pay their commission. So if you are asked to have money paid into your bank account by a friend, acquaintance or colleague question why your account is needed.

• Don't place yourself in a compromising position
• To receive stolen funds is an offence and you may make yourself liable for prosecution, to retain a wrongful credit is an offence punishable by imprisonment

If in doubt don't allow your account to be used. Seek advice from your bank.

External resources

• Serious Fraud Office
• Office of Fair Trading
• E-Tailing
• Financial Service Authority
• Cardwatch
• CIFAS
• Equifax
• Experian
• British Bankers Association
• National Hi-Tech Crime Unit
• Bank Safe Online
• http://www.google.com Use the Google search engine. Type in 'phishing'. There is a wealth of information out there.

Advance Fee Fraud

As police and members of the public become aware of the different styles and methods used in these frauds, the fraudsters themselves have to invent new ways to sell an old theme, i.e. something for nothing which always ends up as nothing for something.

The current trend (as used in this instance) is for a victim to receive a letter from a bank or firm of lawyers to the effect that a previously unknown member of your family has been killed in a highway accident overseas (or some similar scenario).

You are the only other person left who may be related to the deceased, and you may be the sole inheritor of the millions of dollars left in an account. The person contacting you will have details of lawyers and genealogical research to show that, indeed, you are the one.

It doesn't matter what the scenario is, except that it will end in tears and a financial loss for whoever is tempted to respond to such a communication and gets sucked into a negotiation with these people.

If you would like more information regarding these types of fraud, here is a useful link: http://www.scambuster419.co.uk/index.html

Lottery scams

A letter landed on your mat this morning with some great news for you - your numbers have come up! You’ve won a substantial sum of money in a lottery. All you have to do to claim the money is to pay an arrangement fee, usually between $3,000 to $5,000. You send the money, but no windfall follows.

High-yield investment scams

You’re told about an investment opportunity which promises very high returns on your money. Below are some of the common characteristics of these types of scam, which should set alarms bells ringing. The paperwork you’ll be given generally consists of complicated, legal-looking documents containing errors such as spelling mistakes and incorrect place names.
Here are some common phrases which fraudsters will use but which real banks won’t.

• Risk Free
• High Rate of Return
• "Secret” Offshore Trading
• Non-disclosure, non-circumvention
• Confidentiality agreement
• Non-solicitation agreement
• Letter of intent / proof of funds
• Good, clean, clear funds of non-criminal origin

If you check with the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), for example, you’ll find the ‘companies’ offering these investments aren’t licensed and the programmes they’re pushing are not available from legitimate brokerage firms.