- New research finds that nearly one in four people find it
hard to say ‘no’ to requests from a stranger on the phone
- Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign urges people to Stop,
Challenge, Protect when asked for their information or money
At the start of Take Five Week (13-17 September), the public is
being warned about the increase in fraudulent calls, texts and
emails as new figures from UK Finance show the number of
impersonation scam cases more than doubled in the first half of
2021 to 33,115. These scams resulted in criminals stealing £129.4
million through this type of fraud alone over this time. In the
same period last year there were 14,947 impersonation scam cases
which led to £57.9 million being stolen.
In an impersonation scam, a criminal pretends to be from a
trusted organisation such as a bank, the police, a government
department or a service provider. The criminal then tricks their
victim into transferring money using a range of cover stories.
These include claiming they need to protect an account from
fraud, that a fine or tax needs to be paid or an erroneous refund
must be returned.
Too polite to say no
The rise in impersonation scams comes as research for the Take
Five to Stop Fraud campaign finds that nearly one in five (19 per
cent) of people feel uncomfortable saying ‘no’ to a request for
personal information from a stranger via email or text, rising to
almost a quarter (23 per cent) when it comes to phone
calls.3 This could leave them at risk of an
impersonation scam.
Overall, 92 per cent of people admit to saying ‘yes’ because they
don’t want to appear rude. The research found that people use all
sorts of phrases to avoid saying ‘no’, with the most popular
being ‘I’m not sure’ (used by 37%), followed by ‘I don’t think
so’, ‘Let me think about it’, and ‘I can’t at the moment’ (all
34%) and this can give criminals a way in.
To help people stay safe, the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign
advice is to:
- STOP: Take a moment to stop and think before parting with
your money or information could keep you safe.
- CHALLENGE: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or
ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic
you.
- PROTECT: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve
fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.
The impersonation scams data are the first published figures from
UK Finance’s half-yearly fraud report, which will be published
later this month.
Tony Blake, Take Five fraud expert, said:
“Criminals are experts at pretending to be someone they are
not – and can fool even the savviest of people, who don’t want to
seem rude.
“If someone contacts you unprompted and asks for personal or
financial information, stop and take a moment to think - even if
they claim to be from an organisation you trust. Only criminals
will put pressure on you to act quickly. Remember it’s ok to say
no and contact the organisation through a route you know to be
genuine.
“The banking and finance industry works to tackle fraud on
every front, through investing millions in advanced technology
and working closely with the government and law enforcement to
stop the criminal gangs responsible.”
