Scams

Telephone Scams

Bogus calls designed to convince you to hand over your credit card or bank details are a real problem. Be cautious.

If you are contacted by telephone, whether this is on your home phone or mobile, and told that you have won a prize, think for a minute: did you enter any competitions?

Odds are you didn't.

The vast majority of the time these calls are scams, originating from abroad and designed to convince you to give over personal details such as your bank account number or credit card information.

Just hang up

If this happens to you, just hang up the phone. If you ever do win, you will never be asked for personal details, nor would you ever have to pay anything in order to collect your winnings - that's a sure sign that something is wrong.

Many people have been taken in by these scams, and some have lost their entire life savings.

Don't be one of them.

• never give out personal details over the phone
• always ask for more information
• be sure you know who you're talking to
• keep your bank account details safe

Email Scams

Some criminals now use emails to try and obtain personal details. Some of these are very convincing and look very similar to the websites of organisations such as banks or building societies. Remember that legitimate organisations will never ask you for personal details by email.

Most email scams have similar characteristics:

• They ask for personal details
• They are usually threatening or offer something that seems too good to be true.
• Come from an unusual email address
• The email address when replying does not match the one the original email comes from
• There are spelling mistakes

If you are not sure about any email, don’t reply to it, even to tell them you think it’s a scam, you could end up getting even more spam. Never give your password to anyone by email.

If you do things such as banking online you should take a few simple steps to protect yourself:

• Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date on a regular basis
• Install and learn how to use a personal firewall
• Download the latest security updates (or patches) for your web browser and operating system