Financial and business news and articles
Posts tagged Scams
Phishing emails from ‘Amazon’ are well out of order
Mar 14th
Fraudsters are targeting Amazon customers with emails telling them to check their account details
Customers of the online bookseller Amazon are being warned to be wary of a fake “phishing” email asking them to check their accounts.
These emails, addressed “Dear Customer”, say: “Your order has been successfully canceled [sic]. For your reference, here’s a summary of your order.” They then give an order number and a link to “order information”, which appears to take users to an external website that does not belong to Amazon. The emails have a link to the genuine Amazon.com website at the bottom, making them appear authentic.
“From time to time, customers may receive emails appearing to come from Amazon, which are actually false emails, or ‘phishing emails’,” said a spokeswoman for Amazon. “These can look similar to real Amazon emails but often direct the recipient to a false website, where they might be asked to provide account information such as their email address and password combination.”
She advises customers to send any such emails to spoofing@amazon.com and only check their order status by logging directly into their account from amazon.co.uk.
This particular spoof is one of a growing number of fake emails landing in people’s inboxes, as the global wave of phishing attacks grows. Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of trying to illicit sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details from website users, usually via emails that look as though they genuinely come from a bank or an online retailer.
Last week the industry body UK Cards Association announced that the number of phishing attacks on bank customers had risen to 51,000 from just 1,700 five years ago. As a result of this and other methods of internet banking fraud, online banking losses totalled almost £60m in 2009 compared with £52.5m in 2008 and £23.2m in 2005. It is the only area of card fraud that has increased rather than fallen in the past year.
“Banks would never approach customers by email asking for their bank details, but people still fall for this scam,” says a spokesman for the association.
Phishing attacks have also plagued users of social networking website Twitter in the past few months. Criminals have been attempting to trick Twitter users into giving away their username and password via messages that apparently come from friends. The messages contain a link to a spoof website that looks just like the Twitter home page, where users are then prompted to enter their login details. Security experts have expressed concern that this information could then be used to gain remote access to Twitter users’ computers.
Last week the website introduced an anti-phishing service designed to protect its users from these types of attacks.
UK banking customers can see examples of recent phishing emails in a gallery, sorted by bank, on the industry’s Bank Safe Online website.
Protect yourself
• Make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall installed. Consider using anti-spyware software.
• Ensure your browser is set to the highest level of security notification and monitoring.
• Apply common sense. Your bank would never contact you to ask you to disclose your Pin or other sensitive details by email. Delete such emails and make your bank aware of what you have been sent.
• Always access online accounts by typing the bank or retailer’s address into your web browser. Never go to a website from a link in an email and then enter personal details.
Fraudsters’ home insurance scam needs to be addressed
Mar 13th
Beware: crooks who try to insure your home are after your personal details
You wrote recently that nobody fraudulently buys house insurance for someone else’s property using their own bank account details. Actually, fraudsters apply for insurance in someone else’s name to receive policy documents which can be used as proof of address when opening a bank account. It’s possible a fraudster got the reader’s details from the phone book and used fake info for the other answers, along with a bank account he controlled, to obtain policy documents. These can be intercepted in the post and the fraudster can then cancel the direct debit. IT, Hull
One reader was chased by Aviva for premiums for a policy he had not set up, and was told some people fraudulently buy financial products online to get promotional gifts. Another found his house insured by Lloyds TSB after a clerk typed the wrong postcode which, with the house number, appeared as his property. No one checked his address against the application form. Clearly I was naive to assume there was nothing to gain by insuring a stranger’s house.
• Email Margaret Dibben at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.
Cashpoints: HSBC launches 1.99% discount mortgage
Mar 11th
• This week’s top news stories
• Virginia Wallis answers your homebuying questions
• Swinging cuts: Buying golf clubs at a good price
This week’s top stories
• HSBC is offering a market beating discount mortgage with a rate of 1.99%. The two-year loan has a £999 arrangement fee and is available up to 60% of a property’s value.
• The amount of money lost to online banking fraud last year rose by 14%, according to new figures, despite an overall drop in card fraud losses.
• House prices may start rising again after last month’s fall, but the market will drop later in 2010 and this time the correction could last for several years, economists warn.
• Do you have any feedback on any of these issues that you want to get off your chest? Email us at money.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
Feature
Swinging cuts: Buying golf clubs at a good price
In Las Vegas hotels you will often need to walk via the slot machines and roulette tables to get to your room, tempting you to stop and gamble. Similarly, the layout of golf driving ranges requires you to wander through the pro-shop, passing the shiny clubs and latest gadgets both before and after your practice.
If you’re not careful, before you’ve even swung a club your eye will have been drawn by a bag of irons, a fancy driver, the obligatory hand warmer and a dozen lake balls, and your wallet will be much lighter.
Read the article in full here
Ask the experts: Homebuying
Question of the week: “My partner was unemployed over summer, but now has a job. Will this affect our mortgage application?”
Our homebuying expert Virginia Wallis says: “If your partner is still in a trial period with his new employer it will indeed affect your ability to get a mortgage. That is assuming you want the loan to be based on both your salaries …” Read the answer in full here
• Any questions? Email our panel of experts on financial concerns, consumer gripes, legal wrangles, debt worries and career-related problems at money.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
Tools
Free Isa brochures
Don’t lose your tax-free savings allowance. The limit is currently £7,200 for the under-50s, or £10,200 if you are 50 or above (it rises to £10,200 for everyone from 6 April). This allowance must be used by 5 April or you will lose it. Browse these brochures to find the Isa that best suits you
Online banking fraud loses rise 14%
Mar 10th
Number of ‘phishing’ attacks have risen to 51,000 from just 1,700 five years ago, according to the UK Cards Association
The amount of money lost to online banking fraud last year rose by 14%, according to figures released today, despite an overall drop in card fraud losses.
Criminals have switched their attentions from internal bank systems, which are notoriously difficult to attack, to individual household computers, the UK Cards Association said.
Fraudsters are targeting bank customers through email links and attachments. Once consumers click on the links or open the attachments they expose themselves to computer viruses that can detect their keystrokes when they log on to their accounts.
The number of “phishing” attacks, where fraudsters lead customers to fake bank websites via an email that purports to come from their bank, increased by 16% from 2008 to 51,000. This compares to just 1,700 such attacks five years ago.
As a result, online banking losses totalled almost £60m in 2009 compared to £52.5m in 2008 and £23.2m in 2005.
“Fraudsters are now relying on the weakest link in the chain, and that is online banking customers themselves,” a spokesman for the UK Cards Association said. “Banks would never approach customers by email asking for their bank details, but people still fall for this scam.”
Phone banking losses, which were recorded for the first time in 2009, totalled £12.1m, with most losses involving customers being duped into disclosing security details through cold calling.
Despite the sharp increase in online losses, overall fraud on debit cards and credit cards fell by more than a quarter compared to the previous year – the first time card fraud has decreased since 2006. However, it still costs the industry £440m a year, which is only slightly down on the 2005 figure.
Remote threat
The industry struggled with huge losses in 2007 and 2008 when the amount of money lost to fraud peaked at about £610m. It attributed this to the number of remote transactions not protected by chip and pin, such as internet purchases. This “card not present” fraud still accounts for the biggest chunk of card fraud losses, although they were down 19% last year to £266m.
Card fraud abroad was the other major problem in 2007 and 2008. In an effort to get around chip and pin, which completed its UK roll out in 2006, fraudsters were cloning the magnetic stripe on the back of cards and taking these overseas to countries where chip and pin had not yet been introduced.
In the last year industry initiatives to tackle both these areas have paid dividends. Chip and pin has been introduced by more countries across the world making cloning cards more difficult, while the continuing growth of MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa in the UK has made it harder for fraudsters to shop online with other people’s cards.
Banks and building societies have also become more proactive about blocking card transactions abroad. This tactic has not always proved popular with customers, however, who are increasingly finding themselves unable to use their cards abroad because their bank suspects fraudulent use.
Despite all the industry’s best efforts, annual plastic card fraud losses are still up £1m from 2005.
“Tackling card fraud is like a rollercoaster with plenty of peaks and troughs,” the UK Cards Association spokesman said. “Whatever system we put in place we know criminals won’t give up and go and get legitimate jobs. They are always going to target our cards.”
Cashpoints: House prices fall in February
Mar 4th
• This week’s top news stories
• Virginia Wallis answers your homebuying questions
• How to improve your chances of getting a mortgage
This week’s top stories
• House prices fell by 1.5% in February, figures from one of the UK’s largest lenders showed today, in a further sign of a slowdown in the housing market.
• Grandparents in some of the UK’s most vulnerable families are risking hardship by taking time out of work to provide free childcare, a report claimed today.
• Think you’ve been given the chance to sign up as an iPad tester via Facebook? No you haven’t – it’s a scam which actually signs you up to a premium rate mobile service, warns the security company Sophos.
• Do you have any feedback on any of these issues that you want to get off your chest? Email us at money.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
Feature
Ten of the best … ways to improve your chances of getting a mortgage
The easy availability of mortgages was a key factor behind the credit crunch, and once the global banking system started to implode it was one of the first things to give. Lenders cracked down on loan-to-values and tightened up criteria, making it hard for all but the most angelic homebuyers and remortgagors to get a loan.
Things are improving, but lenders have warned that they expect to offer fewer mortgages this year than before the financial crisis. So how do you increase your chances of being one of the approved few? Read the article in full here
Ask the experts: Homebuying
Question of the week: “My husband and I are divorcing. How to do we alter the deeds of our houses to reflect as much?”
Our homebuying expert Virginia Wallis says: “What matters when changing the deeds is when you bought the houses. If a property was bought after 1 December 1990 it is almost certain to be registered at the Land Registry, since that was when land registration became compulsory for the whole of England and Wales …” Read the answer in full here
• Any questions? Email our panel of experts on financial concerns, consumer gripes, legal wrangles, debt worries and career-related problems at money.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
Tools
Free Isa brochures
Don’t lose your tax-free savings allowance. The limit is currently £7,200 for the under-50s, or £10,200 if you are 50 or above (it rises to £10,200 for everyone from 6 April). This allowance must be used by 5 April or you will lose it. Browse these brochures to find the Isa that best suits you
Got a missed call from an 076 number? Don’t call back – it’s a premium rate scam
Mar 2nd
Regulator warns that number range reserved for radiopagers is being used in new premium rate ripoff
Had a “missed call” recently from an 076 number? It wasn’t – it was actually part of a new scam, warns PhonePayPlus, the premium phone number regulator.
A number of people have already fallen victim to the scam, judging by the whocallsme site, which aims to offer reverse lookups to landlines for calls apparently coming from non-geographical numbers.
The tale told by bacon98 at the site is quite typical: “No idea why I’ve called this number twice but it’s not a normal mobile number as I’ve been charged 42.6p+vat per call & I don’t know whose number it is!!!”
The structure of the scam is simple enough: the scammers buy up a range of numbers through a network operator, then use automated systems to make “ghost calls” to a huge range of numbers, never completing the call. You get a “call missed” message, call it back, and the network operator charges you the cost of the call – which, because it’s ostensibly to a radiopager, costs very much more than a landline or even mobile call. Under the contract, which it thinks is legitimate (after all, perhaps someone set up a company which needed to call lots of radiopagers in a hurry), the network operator then passes a large cut of the proceeds on to the scammers – who soon after disappear with the loot. Then they pop up again a few weeks or months later running a similar scam.
PhonePayPlus, formerly known as Icstis, which regulates the £1bn premium call industry in the UK, warned today that it will take “swift action against the misuse of 076 numbers”. Which would seem to be swift action against any use of 076 numbers to leave missed calls. Radiopagers, of course, can’t make calls.
As PhonePayPlus explains, those numbers, reserved for radiopaging services, are not allowed to be used to provide a controlled premium rate service and generate revenue.
But, it says,
“Unfortunately, there is evidence that 076 numbers are being used for the same kind of “missed call” scams that have previously operated on the 070 number range. “
Colour us unsurprised: premium rate number scammers are unrelenting in their efforts to whirl up and down the phone number stack in search of niches they can exploit for profit.
PhonepayPlus says that it “successfully tackled 070 scams through prompt and effective enforcement action, reducing the number of complaints by 69% in the last quarter” and that it “will take a similarly robust approach to any scams operating on 076 numbers and will fulfil its duty to regulate any service that operates, or appears to operate, as a controlled premium rate service, regardless of whether the numbers involved are designated as premium rate in the Ofcom Numbering Plan.”
Of course, as with all premium-rate number scams, questions have to be asked too about the network operators that provide the numbers to the scammers. If PhonePayPlus finds them in breach of practice, it can fine and/or ban them (and frequently has).
Paul Whiteing, chief executive of PhonepayPlus, said: “we will consider using our Emergency Procedure to shut down any service that is operating a “missed call” scam, pending a full investigation. We will have no tolerance for 076 scams that harm both consumers and damage the industry.”
So is there an 076 number in your “missed calls” list? And did you call it back?
‘Free iPad’ scam spreading on Facebook and Twitter, warns Sophos
Mar 2nd
Signing up for that ‘free’ offer could actually end up costing you as scammers use Facebook and Twitter to tempt gadget seekers
It’s a day for scams. Think you’ve been given the chance to sign up as an iPad tester via Facebook? No you haven’t – it’s a scam which actually signs you up to a premium rate mobile service, warns the security company Sophos.
“Facebook pages with names such as “iPad Researchers Wanted – Get An iPad Early And Keep It!” and “The Mega iPad Giveaway!” prey on the public’s desire to own a free iPad,” notes Sophos.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, has explained the scam on his blog.
Here’s how it works. The scam pages typically take their intended victims through a three step process:
1) “Become a Fan” of the page; 2) “Invite your friends” to also become fans of the page, and take part in the “special promotion” [they might not stay your friends for that long afterwards - CA]; 3) “Claim” or “Apply” for your prize.
Some of the pages pretend to have thousands of positive comments from other Facebook users claiming that the offer is genuine, Sophos notes. And it’s also running on Twitter – so beware there of people or accounts offering “Free Apple iPad!” or similar. (The key, among other points, is that Apple hasn’t actually begun selling the iPad yet: it won’t do that until April.)
When the victim applies for the prize they are typically taken to an online quiz, and their mobile phone number is requested so they can be sent the results.
“As if inviting all of your friends to participate in a scheme that you haven’t properly investigated wasn’t bad enough, the biggest mistake of all is to hand over your mobile phone number,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “You will be signed up for a premium rate service, costing you in the region of $10 every week, until you unsubscribe. The scammers who created the fake iPad Facebook pages are undoubtedly skimming off some of this money by bringing new unwitting subscribers to the cellphone service.”
Cluley notes: “The good news is that after I alerted Facebook’s security team about this page they disabled it very promptly. However, the bad news is that there are many other similar Facebook pages being created on the social network designed to scam unsuspecting users.
“Not all of them pretend to offer an iPad, so be on your guard for other scams too. The most important thing to remember is to not invite your friends to any Facebook page or application until you have thoroughly researched what it’s about. Furthermore, you should never be tempted to hand over your mobile phone number to some daft internet quiz.”
There’s also a video showing how the scam works. The lesson: be wary. And stop wanting free stuff. There’s always a price to pay.
Scam watch: Twitter phishing and the false selling of shares
Feb 25th
Beware of a false Twitter login page and an investments scam using the details of authorised firms to sell shares
Two scam warnings emerged this week: one aimed at social networkers, and another at would-be investors.
Twitter users were warned to look out for a phishing scam which sends tweeters a message saying “This you????” followed by a link. Curious recipients who click on the link are taken to a fake Twitter login page, where scammers are waiting to get their details. On the plus side, this allays any fears that you have been caught on camera doing something embarrassing, but at the expense of giving away your password and email address – which could well be details you use to access accounts elsewhere. Your account can also be hacked into and used to send phishing messages to your contacts.
Security expert Graham Cluley has a video on his blog warning about the attack.
It’s not the first scam attempted on Twitter users and is unlikely to be the last. So how can you avoid falling victim?
• If you get a message that seems this impersonal then don’t click on the link.
• If you want to log in to your account, go straight to Twitter.com, don’t use a login page from a link.
• Make sure you use a different password for Twitter than for other sites (particularly those where you make financial transactions).
Separately, the Financial Services Authority has warned about a new investments scam where overseas fraudsters use the names, registration numbers and addresses of FSA-authorised firms and individuals to sell shares – in one case a company’s website was cloned and a false email address and phone number added.
Hand over your cash and in return you will get shares that are non-tradable, overpriced or even non-existent. And if the firm goes bust or disappears you will not be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
The FSA says would-be share buyers should be wary of any unsolicited call or email from a firm of which they are not a customer. It recommends the following steps:
• Ask for the contact details of the person calling you;
• Check the firm or individual’s status on the FSA register; and
• Call the firm back on the switchboard number provided on the FSA register to make sure that the call came from the legitimate authorised firm.
Anybody who has been contacted by a suspicious firm or has any doubts should report the encounter as soon as possible by calling the FSA on 0300 500 5000 or reporting it online.
Scam watch: Phantom flats and money transfers to landlords
Feb 15th
Tenants are being targeted by so-called landlords who ask them to ‘prove funds’ with a money transfer receipt made to a friend
Tenants who are searching online for a room or property to rent have been warned to watch out for money transfer scams involving “phantom” flats.
National charity Citizens Advice says would-be tenants should be on their guard if they are asked to “prove funds” via money transfer prior to viewing the property.
The charity’s Citizens Advice bureau are reporting cases of people falling victim to a scam where fake landlords, who often claim to live abroad, ask prospective tenants to make a “secure” money transfer to a trusted person – either themselves or a relative. They are then asked to send a copy of the receipt to the landlord to prove they have sufficient money for deposit and rent before they are shown the property.
The prospective tenants are told that no one else can access the money, but find when they go to collect it that the money has already been withdrawn by someone else and the room or property doesn’t exist.
In one case, for example, a student was asked to transfer £1,800 to a friend via money transfer to prove she had enough money to rent a room she found online. After giving the receipt as proof to the landlord, she asked her friend to collect the money, only to find it had already been collected by someone else. The transfer agency told her that the person who collected it had given the money transfer number and shown identification in the correct name.
When the student reported the crime to the police, she was told there was no case because she was unable to give sufficient information of how the funds had been collected. But when she tried to get this information from the money transfer company, she was told they couldn’t give details without a crime reference number due to data protection. She found herself in a catch-22 situation and nearly £2,000 out of pocket.
“Money transfer, used in any situation other than to send money to someone you know, is not secure. It should never be used as a way of proving funds or as a method of payment to someone you don’t know,” warns Citizens Advice consumer affairs policy officer Susan Marks. “Sharing your money transfer number or copy of your transfer receipt is like handing over your PIN number to a stranger. It’s not the same as transferring money from one bank to another, and isn’t covered by the same safeguards.
“The very nature of what makes money transfer appealing – that it’s quick and easy and that money can be sent to numerous outlets in the UK or abroad – is also the thing that leaves it open to exploitation by fraudsters.”
Citizens Advice says it wants to work with money transfer companies, which have been regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) since November 2009, to help them to tackle the misuse of their services and thwart fraudsters by, for example, looking at how their ID-checking processes can be strengthened.
Meanwhile if you are thinking of making a money transfer and/or searching for property to let online, take steps to protect yourself:
• Never share your money transfer number or copy of the receipt
• Never part with any money before you have viewed the property in person
• Never agree to transfer money, even to yourself, to prove you can afford deposit and rental payments
• Offer to provide references from previous landlords and other professionals such as a GP or employer who can vouch for you, rather than transferring money
• If possible, meet the landlord in person and never hand over any money until you have seen a written contract and checked it over
• Do a Land Registry check to confirm that those who say they own the building actually do own it. See landregistry.gov.uk for more information.
• All landlords must be part of a registered tenancy deposit scheme. One way to check a landlord is legitimate is to ask for the details of which scheme they’re registered with and check that they are. See direct.gov.uk/tenancydeposit for more information.
For more details of making a money transfer and checking out a firm’s credentials, visit the FSA website.
If you do fall victim to this type of scam, complain to the money transfer agency, the National Fraud Authority’s Action Fraud line on 0300 123 2040 (actionfraud.org.uk), or your local police station. You can also let the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) know at consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty. And you can get free, confidential advice from your local CAB adviceguide.org.uk.
Scam watch: Phantom flats and money transfers to landlords
Feb 15th
Tenants are being targeted by so-called landlords who ask them to ‘prove funds’ with a money transfer receipt made to a friend
Tenants who are searching online for a room or property to rent have been warned to watch out for money transfer scams involving “phantom” flats.
National charity Citizens Advice says would-be tenants should be on their guard if they are asked to “prove funds” via money transfer prior to viewing the property.
The charity’s Citizens Advice bureau are reporting cases of people falling victim to a scam where fake landlords, who often claim to live abroad, ask prospective tenants to make a “secure” money transfer to a trusted person – either themselves or a relative. They are then asked to send a copy of the receipt to the landlord to prove they have sufficient money for deposit and rent before they are shown the property.
The prospective tenants are told that no one else can access the money, but find when they go to collect it that the money has already been withdrawn by someone else and the room or property doesn’t exist.
In one case, for example, a student was asked to transfer £1,800 to a friend via money transfer to prove she had enough money to rent a room she found online. After giving the receipt as proof to the landlord, she asked her friend to collect the money, only to find it had already been collected by someone else. The transfer agency told her that the person who collected it had given the money transfer number and shown identification in the correct name.
When the student reported the crime to the police, she was told there was no case because she was unable to give sufficient information of how the funds had been collected. But when she tried to get this information from the money transfer company, she was told they couldn’t give details without a crime reference number due to data protection. She found herself in a catch-22 situation and nearly £2,000 out of pocket.
“Money transfer, used in any situation other than to send money to someone you know, is not secure. It should never be used as a way of proving funds or as a method of payment to someone you don’t know,” warns Citizens Advice consumer affairs policy officer Susan Marks. “Sharing your money transfer number or copy of your transfer receipt is like handing over your PIN number to a stranger. It’s not the same as transferring money from one bank to another, and isn’t covered by the same safeguards.
“The very nature of what makes money transfer appealing – that it’s quick and easy and that money can be sent to numerous outlets in the UK or abroad – is also the thing that leaves it open to exploitation by fraudsters.”
Citizens Advice says it wants to work with money transfer companies, which have been regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) since November 2009, to help them to tackle the misuse of their services and thwart fraudsters by, for example, looking at how their ID-checking processes can be strengthened.
Meanwhile if you are thinking of making a money transfer and/or searching for property to let online, take steps to protect yourself:
• Never share your money transfer number or copy of the receipt
• Never part with any money before you have viewed the property in person
• Never agree to transfer money, even to yourself, to prove you can afford deposit and rental payments
• Offer to provide references from previous landlords and other professionals such as a GP or employer who can vouch for you, rather than transferring money
• If possible, meet the landlord in person and never hand over any money until you have seen a written contract and checked it over
• Do a Land Registry check to confirm that those who say they own the building actually do own it. See landregistry.gov.uk for more information.
• All landlords must be part of a registered tenancy deposit scheme. One way to check a landlord is legitimate is to ask for the details of which scheme they’re registered with and check that they are. See direct.gov.uk/tenancydeposit for more information.
For more details of making a money transfer and checking out a firm’s credentials, visit the FSA website.
If you do fall victim to this type of scam, complain to the money transfer agency, the National Fraud Authority’s Action Fraud line on 0300 123 2040 (actionfraud.org.uk), or your local police station. You can also let the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) know at consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty. And you can get free, confidential advice from your local CAB adviceguide.org.uk.