A reformed criminal dubbed 'Britain’s greatest fraudster' has given tips on how Mirror readers can stay safe from scams.
Tony Sales, 47, stole £30million using hacked personal information and was once one of Britain's most-wanted men.
He carried out his first credit card fraud aged just 13 before turning to a life of crime that included theft and scams against banks, jewellers, shops - and even violent criminals.
London-born Sales said he was addicted to crime and the riches it brought, before ending up with a 12-month prison sentence in 2010 for passport forging.
Then he decided to turn his life around, and now works for a company called We Fight Fraud , helping companies keep themselves and consumers safe from scams.
Speaking to the Mirror, Sales lifted the lid on his career as a scammer, how fraudsters think and how consumers can protect themselves from being conned.
"I was young, foolish, full of ego and wanted to be someone," he said. "I've spent the rest of the time trying to prove myself.
"As a human, how can you stand by, if you know how to stop something and you don't? Fraud causes poverty, and some people never recover from it. And most of the money stolen is squandered on high-value items that mean nothing. I couldn't just stand by."
"The journey is long, the job is humungous. I sometimes think it's so big that I haven't achieved anything at all."
How successful frauds work
Sales says many successful frauds manage to bypass our natural defence mechanisms that would otherwise make us suspicious.
They also rely on volume - the more people that can be contacted, the greater the chance of success.
"Fraudsters play the numbers game, they try thousands of people, Sales said. "They use reassurances, and often tap into things that we humanly do."
An example is fraudulent 'Royal Mail' text messages about parcel deliveries during the pandemic.
The con involves scammers texting people claiming they’ve had a parcel returned to a Post Office branch or Royal Mail depot.
The text contains a link to a fake website that looks like the official Post Office one.
Millions of these messages were sent, and some asked for money to release parcels - which went straight into the pockets of criminals.
But the fraud was so successful because it relies on something millions of us were doing during lockdowns - waiting for parcels.
Sales said: "I think the parcel delivery fraud - if you're a criminal that's a genius move. We were all at home, ordering things often every week."
Variants on the parcel delivery scam asked the victim to enter their personal details - including full name, address, date of birth and phone number - supposedly to identify their closest depot and reorganise the delivery.
But in reality, this is sent directly to the scammers, who might use this information to commit identity fraud or gain access to your bank accounts.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) says it’s aware of one person who lost £80,000 after entering their details into the bogus Post Office website.
Fraudsters were able to pass their bank's security checks by using the personal information the victim provided online.
Sales said the theft and re-sale of personal data is a massive issue for the public.
"All of this information gets released on the dark web," he said. "That is a problem - controlling that flow of data. When a company gets breached, that needs to be made more public."
How to stay safe from fraud
But Sales has good news for consumers, as a few simple precautions can help you stay protected from people trying to steal your details or cash.
Firstly, being aware of the different frauds out there is a big help, as criminals tend to revive old scams rather than dream up new ones.
Sales said: "There are no new frauds - there are only old ones with a new face. There is nothing new under the sun."
Consumers can help stay up to date on fraud by reading the money press, as well as occasionally checking the Take Five To Stop Fraud website, run by banking trade body UK Finance.
But Sales also urged consumers to be vigilant and take their time over transactions if something doesn't look right.
"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is," he said. "I know it might sound boring, but these points do really matter.
"Don't panic. Think about things, and take the time to research things online. No decisions have to be made on the spot."
If you think you have been the victim of a scam, immediately report it to the police through Action Fraud .
