Helping you stay safe from financial crime and scams
Being aware of some of the different types of fraud is important to keeping your personal and financial information safe.
With so many ways to communicate these days, as well as the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and fake adverts, financial scams are becoming evermore intuitive, smart and believable. Even the finance-famed Martin Lewis became victim of fraud and aired his concerns to raise awareness of the dangers of fraud sophistication.
If you identify a scam attempt, or fall victim to one, the best thing you can do is speak up and report it.
According to the National Crime Agency, the most common types of fraud in the UK include investment, romance, payment, and online bank account fraud.
NOTE: if you suspect any payment or banking scams, contact your bank immediately.
More information on common scams in the UK can be found on the FCA, Action Fraud, or FSCS websites.
While there are many scams across the UK, there are a few key scams you should be aware of and it's important to know what each can involve. Here's a list of six common financial scams to be aware of:
This occurs when someone steals your personal information, like your name, to pretend to be you and commit fraud. For example, a criminal may open new accounts in your name or get medical treatment using your identity, leading to account takeovers, financial loss, and legal problems.
Dating or romance fraud involves meeting a partner online who may seem perfect, but are actually deceiving you. They use emotive tactics to gain your trust, then ask for money or other personal details.
This can happen via a fake broker, social media offers, fictitious websites or cold calls as well as others, pretending to offer investment opportunities in schemes or products that are either worthless or don't exist.
This can happen via a fake broker, social media offers, fictitious websites or cold calls as well as others, pretending to offer investment opportunities in schemes or products that are either worthless or don't exist.
Scammers may try to make money through fees, by gaining direct access to pension savings, or receiving investments. Common features of pension scams include attempts to gather information for future scams, making false or unrealistic promises, persuade you to either transfer your entire pension savings, or release funds from it.
This is similar to identity theft, but instead of pretending to be a person, a scammer will pretend to be an insurance provider (sometimes called a "ghost broker") in order to sell fraudulent life, medical or car insurance products.
Contact your provider immediately if you're in the middle of a transaction. If you believe any products with us may be at risk, contact the product support lines. All our contact details are here.
Report any other incidents to:
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA):
Contact their consumer helpline at 0800 111 6768 or use their report form at www.fca.org.uk
Action Fraud:
On 0300 123 2040 or at www.actionfraud.police.uk
If you experience any payment, cheque or banking related scams, contact your bank immediately.
Learn about the common tactics and how to prevent fraud.
Learn the warning signs of scams that are used daily.
