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Due to the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19 (the coronavirus), below are some articles containing information on coronavirus scams and advice on how to protect yourself from them.
Coronavirus-related fraud reports increased by 400% in March
Action Fraud have reported a huge spike in coronavirus related scams in March. The majority of the reports have been related to online shopping scams, with ticket fraud, romance fraud, charity fraud and lender loan fraud also being reported. more
Councils are warning people about doorstep scams and cold callers
Council are warning people that criminals are pretending to be health officials or offering to pick up food and deliver medicines. Criminals are also selling fake face masks and hand sanitisers, say the Local Government Association - with hand sanitiser containing an ingredient banned for human use being seized in Birmingham. more
Online coronavirus scams identified and explained
Malwarebytes have pulled together a useful overview of coronavirus-related scams that are being seen on the internet. They discovered multiple email scams that attempt to use the fear and confusion surrounding the coronavirus to steal personal and financial information from consumers. more
Below is our fortnightly Scam Alert:
Doorstep Scams
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4th November 2020
Elderly people have been targeted by the gang in at least 15 distraction burglaries committed last month across the Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Walsall boroughs, West Midlands Police said. The men have been posing as police officers, water board engineers and gardeners to trick their way into the people's homes. more |
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5th November 2020
Cumbria Trading Standards and Cumbria Constabulary have helped the National Trading Standards North East Regional Investigations Team put a fraudulent cold calling fish seller behind bars.
John Mills, aged 50 of Chester-le-Street was sentenced on Friday 30 October at Teesside Crown Court to 60 months in prison, reduced to 40 months for an early guilty plea. more
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Telephone Scams
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Amazon Prime customers warned of scam phone calls
7th November 2020
Consumers have been warned not to fall prey to criminals who are targeting Amazon Prime customers, many of whom became members for the first time during the Covid-19 crisis. Victims are being tricked into downloading software that lets criminals access their bank accounts. more
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HMRC smishing tax scam targets UK banking customers
9th November 2020
An advanced HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tax rebate scam is targeting UK residents via text messages (SMS).
The smishing campaign is concerning as it employs multiple HMRC phishing domains and tactics, with new domains added every day as older ones get flagged by spam filters. more
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Online Scams
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4th November 2020
Penny was looking for better returns at the beginning of June, so she looked around online and put her details into a site.
She received a call a few days later from someone who claimed to be calling on behalf of a firm called Maxagon Kapital.
“I did check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register and there was no warning at the time,” said Penny. more
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9th November 2020
Police are warning of a fake social media post that is targeting those living in Gloucestershire.
It's a link circulating on social media which claimed that a 10-year old girl named Majka was abducted in Cheltenham on Sunday 8th November. more
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9th November 2020
Researchers at Parliament Street uncovered a dodgy Facebook group called "Cadbury Rewards" with a message from someone calling themselves "Anna Burton" claiming to be a regional manager at the chocolate company.
The post claims Cadbury's is offering the giveaway to celebrate its 126th birthday, but almost everything about it is wrong. more
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