Beware Of Christmas Scams
It’s nearly that time of the year folks. Festive celebrations aplenty, a time for love and goodwill and, sadly, a time when scammers go into overdrive. I can’t give any suggestions as to how you should celebrate. Or, who you should share your love and goodwill with. But, thanks to John from Blacon, we can give some help and assistance of how to beware of Christmas scams. Have a read of this relating to online Christmas scams from last year.
Beware Of Christmas Scams
Thanks John for the following Cheshire Police Alert.
“Online shopping scams cost shoppers £15.4 million over the Christmas period last year.
New data from Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, reveals that 28,049 shoppers were conned out of their money when shopping online over the Christmas period last year – an increase of almost two thirds (61 per cent) when compared to the same period in the previous year.
Ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Action Fraud is warning the public to take extra care when shopping online as reports of online shopping fraud have continued to surge. Here are some simple tips to help you and your family enjoy a secure online shopping experience this festive season.
Beware Of Christmas Scams – Where to shop
Buying from an online store you haven’t used before? Carry out some research first, or ask a friend or family member if they’ve used the site and about their experiences before completing the purchase.
Your Information
Only create an account if necessary or to save you effort if you’re going to use that site a lot in the future. Be cautious if the website asks you for details that are not required for your purchase, such as your mother’s maiden name or the name of your primary school.
Payment Method
When it’s time to pay for your items, check there’s a ‘closed padlock’ icon in the browser’s address bar. Use a credit card when shopping online, if you have one. Most major credit card providers protect online purchases.
Phishing
Some of the messages you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. If you’re unsure about a link, don’t use the it – go separately to the website. Report suspicious emails you receive by forwarding them to: report@phishing.gov.uk. Report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to: 7726.
Email Accounts
Make sure that your really important accounts (such as your email account or online shopping accounts) are protected by strong passwords that you don’t use anywhere else. Need help changing your email account password? You can use these links to find step by step instructions: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, BT, AOL Mail.
If Things Go Wrong
If you’ve lost money to an online shopping scam, tell your bank and report it as a crime to Action Fraud (for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or Police Scotland (for Scotland).
By doing this, you’ll be helping to prevent others becoming victims of cyber crime. For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware Thanks for reading!
If you found this information useful, please help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends.
Message Sent By Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National) 0300 123 2040.”
Beware Of Christmas Scams – Please Spread The Word
Thanks again John for a very important article. If you can, please spread the word to your family and friends. The more people that are aware of these scams and the measures we can take to protect ourselves the better. Thanks for sharing.
Not Specifically Christmas Related But Still A Scam
This next bit highlights a new scam doing the rounds that is not specifically Christmas related but can be presented to you at any time. What follows is an actual situation that happened to someone I know. And it is someone who is switched on to the many scams out there and is aware and cautious accordingly. I mention this last comment to illustrate how clever these scams can be. Even if you are savvy to most of them.
This one was specifically focused around the NHS Covid Pass in Wales. You’ve probably heard of the one whereby Covid Passes are required to access certain venues in Wales. Venues like cinemas, theatres and concert halls.
The timing of the contact and what followed is key to how this scam may seem a genuine incident to many. Anyway, allow me to furnish you with more details. Very shortly after this person I know had all their jabs they received a text message mentioning the Covid Pass. In the message there was a link to a very convincing, but cloned NHS website. On this link you could purchase a Pass for a relatively small amount of £4.99.
The website mentioned all the benefits of obtaining it as soon as you could and how safe it was to buy one online so you can be all up and running very quickly. So, this person I know, bought one for £4.99 from the very convincing NHS cloned website.
So Much More Than A £4.99 Scam
At this stage you may think that at the very worst all that has happened is a potential loss of £4.99. Yes, that’s bad enough as it is, but it so nearly got a whole lot worse. Within a few minutes of the £4.99 transaction going through, they received a phone call from their bank. The phone number displayed on their phone was in fact their bank’s actual phone number. So, no reason to not answer the call as it was seemingly from their bank.
The caller was very concerned and meticulous. The reason for the call was to see if “their” account holder had recently carried out any transactions recently relating to any online purchases, or had they invested in any cryptocurrency, or had they just bought one of these passes.
After some clever pauses to check a few things in the background (the usual waiting music jingles were played to add to the authenticity), the caller came back on to confirm their concerns. Their considered advice to ensure that this transaction was only to be a one off and that the bank account had not been compromised – and to “be on the safe side” – was to move the remaining funds to a new, “safe,” newly created bank account immediately.
It was at this point that alarm bells began to ring. After a couple of relevant questions as to why this needed to be done, the caller started to get a bit agitated for the first time. The call was ended and no huge harm done as the balance in the account wasn’t transferred to the new one.
Very Plausible
As it happens, the £4.99 hadn’t even gone through. The big, and the only prize in sight, it would seem was to have the account balance moved to a new one. Disaster averted.
A big concern of course was that the initial website looked exactly like an NHS website and the call number displayed was the bank’s actual number. And all the steps taken by the caller were thorough and helpful right up to the point where they made the request to move funds. It was this final stage that raised a red flag.
In addition to the very important article above, you may also wish to have a read of these others. The first one HERE is another valid, important warning from Get Safe Online , while this next one is a warning about lottery scams.
It is said that hundreds have recently fallen victim to lottery scams in just seven months. Action Fraud have issued this warning HERE.
Beware Of Christmas Scams And Beyond
There are plenty of scams as we are all, aware. And it can be difficult to pick your way through the details and spot one immediately. Hopefully the tips and the information we provide here help you to keep safe. You can see plenty of other scam alerts in our Chester Crimewatch section HERE. It may be a section well worth reading in more detail.
Chester Lifestyle Blog Posts
Thanks for reading my latest blog post – “Beware Of Christmas Scams” – and thanks for visiting my Chester Lifestyle website. It is much appreciated. To see all of my other blog posts, all 500 of them, on a variety of topics, then click HERE.
Stay safe one and all.
Please Note
I earn commissions from Amazon for any qualifying purchases made from my Chester Lifestyle website.
By clicking the image below, or the product links below that, you will be taken through to Amazon where you can search and shop safely and securely to your heart’s content for whatever you may be looking for. Many thanks.
Shop Safely And Securely From Amazon
In this current climate and the need to look after ourselves a bit more, carefully check out these special feature products…….and a bit of Chester thrown in for good measure. Click through anyway from these links to shop for anything else you are after.
