Struggling families have been warned to be on their guard against heartless scams, as fraudsters capitalise on the cost of living crisis.
Fake cost of living payments, energy rebates and phoney competitions are all doing the rounds, as a report by think tank the Resolution Foundation, in collaboration with the Financial Fairness Trust, found that 1.3 million families had no savings even before the biggest cost of living crisis. The report has warned that some are reliant on friends and family when unexpected costs crop up, while while others won’t have any means of coping with them.
Consumer group Which? has rounded up the five most common scams circulating right now, with advice on how to spot and report them.
Read more: Warning over cruel WhatsApp scam that has cost victims over £1.5m this year
1. Fake cost of living payments and energy rebates
There's still a lot of confusion surrounding the Government's cost of living grants, which are paid on different dates and for different amounts depending on your circumstances. Fraudsters are cashing in on this and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has warned about scams regarding cost of living payments as well as energy and council tax rebates.
The Government's cost of living scheme was announced in May and offers £650 to millions of low-income households, with the first instalment of the money transferred in the last week or so. The second won't come until Autumn. If you are due these payments,. they will be made automatically and you don't need to do anything. Don't be tempted by texts or calls asking you to claim or apply for the payment, as they are just a way for the fraudsters to get your bank details.
Every household in the country will be getting a £400 energy grant as a credit on your energy bill in October 2022. Again, this will be credited automatically, so you can safety ignore and report any communication offering you help to claim this payment.
A £150 council tax rebate, which will have been made directly by your council into your bank account or arranged by your local council contacting you, and payments are still underway. The energy rebate will be processed automatically for those who pay their council tax via direct debit, but anyone who pays by any other method has to claim the money. People have reported receiving cold calls offering the £150 energy council tax rebate, with the scammer asking for your bank details to process the payment. The Local Government Association has said that councils will not call you asking for your bank details and anyone who doesn't pay via direct debit should await a letter from their local council with instructions on how to claim the energy rebate.
2. Bank card refund scam
Scammers are using social media to offer you fake bank refunds by sharing a fraudulent screenshot showing amounts from £1,289 to £1,855 being deposited into someone’s account. The screenshot is shared next to a message that promises refunds of between £500 and £20,000 on debit card purchases for last 18 month. The con tempts people into using the sender to claim the refund, with the promise of up to £15,000 with no effort from the themselves. You will then be asked for your bank details, which the scammer will use to set up their device on your account, giving them access to your bank account. They will then use the banking app to dispute a transaction and get a refund.
3. Morrisons food giveaway
Supermarket Morrisons is the latest retailer to be spoofed in a fake ad on Facebook offering free boxes of food worth £30. The ad states: ‘We have thousands of food products due to expire, normally it would be binned however we thought we’d change our ways and start doing things a little better as we know times are tough at the moment. Instead of throwing it all away we will be packing it into boxes and sending everyone who shares+comments in the next 24 hours each a box containing some food worth up to £30. (Sent next day)’
This is a regular scam, often impersonating popular brands with tempting giveaways, and usually sends it to a website to share your personal or financial details. If you see a tempting offer, check a brand’s official social media page or website to see if the post is authentic. Morrisons has confirmed on its official Facebook page that this post isn't genuine and that it only posts offers like these from its official Facebook page.
4. Petrol gift cards
Who wouldn't want to save on their petrol costs as filling up a mid-sized car has now reached about £100? Fraudsters know this, which is why they are running fake social media ads offering a BP fuel card for just £1.78. There have been a number of reports of people receiving emails from 'mdmottakin669@gmail.com' advertising a non-existent $500 Shell petrol gift card. The email reads: ‘$500 Shell Gas Available - Claim Now!’ ‘Congratulations! You’ve been chosen to receive a brand new $500 Shell Gift Card! ‘To claim, simply answer a few quick questions regarding your experience with us. It then asks you to complete a survey for the fake gift card, which will harvest you bank details.
5. Fake investments
Scammers often use fake endorsements to lure people in. One in evidence at the moment sees Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, impersonated in an ad on Facebook to trick you into clicking on links with fake financial advice. The ad says: ‘Lewis announces its latest findings and banks are freaking out!’ and leads to a fake news article that claims to offer a cryptocurrency investment scheme called BitProfit and includes a form to fill in to get money from this fake offer. Which? has reported this ad to Facebook and the website to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
How to report a scam
The most effective way to stop scammers in their tracks is to report a scam when you see one.
Facebook: Select the three dots on the top right-hand corner of the ad and select ‘Report ad,’ before pressing ‘Misleading or scam’.
Websites: Report a suspicious website to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Emails: Forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. You can also select the ‘Report Spam’ on Gmail, the ‘Report phishing’ button on Hotmail and send scam emails to abuse@yahoo.com on a Yahoo account.
Text messages: Forward scam texts to 7726, a free reporting service provided by telecoms companies.
Phone calls: Report scam calls to your mobile to 7726. You can also report scams to Action Fraud. If you have been a victim of a scam and lost money or given away personal details, contact your bank straight away and report the scam to Action Fraud.
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