2020: The year in scams

On top of a global pandemic resulting in lockdowns that plunged the economy into a looming recession, 2020 was a year filled with scams and fraudsters seeking to take advantage of people living in fear for their future finances.

From tax scams to investment fraud, to scammers posing as Amazon Prime to trick people into revealing personal details, authorities have been hard at work issuing warning after warning to members of the public to be wary.

According to UK Finance, the number of impersonation scams almost doubled in the first half of 2020, with nearly £58m lost to such fraudsters between January to June.

Of nearly 15,000 impersonation scam cases reported by UK Finance members in this period, over 8,220 involved impersonations of the police of a bank, while 6,730 saw criminals imitating utility companies, communications service providers or government departments.

These were some of the most prominent and dangerous scams that took place this year:

HMRC Self Assessment scam

This year, HM Revenue and Customs responded to more than 846,000 reports of suspicious contact from scammers claiming to be from the government department. Almost 500,000 of these offered fake tax rebates.

The department also reported over 15,500 fake web pages to internet service providers to be taken down.

The scammers offered Self Assessment customers of a fake “tax rebate” or “tax refund” when they are due on 31 January 2021, and convinced them to hand over personal information, including bank details, to claim the “refund”.

They then used the information to access people’s bank accounts, trick them into paying fake tax bills, or sell the information on to other criminals, said HMRC.

HMRC’s interim director general for customer service, Karl Khan, said in a statement: “If someone calls, emails or texts claiming to be from HMRC, offering financial help or asking for money, it might be a scam. Please take a moment to think before parting with any private information or money.”

Martin Lewis scam

MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis found his name and image being used to promote several scams this year. Ads for fake “life insurance providers” apparently bearing Mr Lewis’ endorsement were seen online, as well as emails claiming to be from Mr Lewis trying to draw the unsuspecting public into a home-based Bitcoin opportunity.

Most recently, Mr Lewis clarified that a Facebook post making the rounds, which claimed he had warned of a new “sophisticated scam” involving fraudsters posing as mobile network providers, had not been mentioned by him.

The post states: “Straight from the City of London Police fraud team – Extremely sophisticated scam going about this week, involving all banks. You get a message saying a payment hasn’t been taken e.g O2, Vodafone, 3, Giff Gaff or EE and to click here. As soon as you touch it your money is gone.”

It adds that the scam was “confirmed by Martin Lewis” – but Mr Lewis warned followers that it had “nowt to do with me”. He said it was likely “phishing for data”, urging people to delete any texts or emails mentioned in the post.

NHS Test and Trace scam

According to MoneySavingExpert, a number of Trading Standards offices have warned of scammers posing as the NHS Test and Trace service or contact tracers trying to steal personal information and money.

The scams can reach people via phone, text or email. But according to the NHS, any official Test and Trace texts will come from the NHS and calls will come from 0300 0135 0000.

Contact tracers will ask for your full name, date or birth and postcode, and offer advice, but they will not ask for any bank details or payments, or for details of any other accounts.

They will also not ask you to set up a password or PIN number over the phone, to call a premium rate number, or to download anything or access a non-NHS or government site.

Pay to access Covid-19 information scams

Email scams, also known as ‘phishing’ scams, are a common method and can often appear very convincing.

During the pandemic, some people have received emails claiming to be from research organisations affiliated with the US’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Recipients of these emails are told they can access a list of people infected with coronavirus in their area by clicking on a link. The link leads to a malicious website which asks for a payment or “donation” in cash or Bitcoin in order to access the “list”.

Christmas delivery scam

Police in Hertfordshire warned residents who turned to online Christmas shopping to watch out for scam emails and text messages from fake parcel delivery companies.

The messages appear to be from legitimate companies such as DPD, Hermes or Royal Mail, stating that they tried to deliver your parcel and asking you to click on a link to reschedule.

The link leads to a website that appears authentic, but asks for personal information and credit card details, said the force.

Detective inspector Rob Burns, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, said at the time: “This scam is very convincing with Christmas a few weeks away and many people are shopping online and waiting for their orders to be delivered.

“It’s important to check the details in the messages and make sure it is genuinely related to an item you have ordered. Does the message use your name, rather than to an email address? Does it mention the goods or company you have ordered items from?

“If in doubt, do not click the link and contact the vendor directly via their website.”

Remote access scam

At least two remote access scams have surfaced this year, involving digital finance institution Revolut earlier in the year, and Amazon Prime more recently.

In September, Which? reported that Revolut customers fell victim to a scam after calling a customer service number provided on a fake Google advert, which connected them to scammers posing as Revolut staff. They were then tricked into downloading remote access software because they believed they were speaking to the company.

Remote access software enables someone to access your device from another location if you download a smartphone app or install a program on your computer.

There have also been fraudsters phoning people and claiming to be calling from “Amazon Prime security”, telling them their Amazon account had been compromised in California and a series of payments had been made from their account.

The fraudsters then instruct people to download TeamViewer, a remote access software, that is then used to access the victim’s bank account online.

In July, a woman from Brighton lost almost £7,000 after she was tricked by someone claiming to be from Amazon Prime security into downloading TeamViewer.

Action Fraud warned consumers to never install any software or visit a website if contacted by a cold caller, and such unsolicited requests should always raise a red flag.

People should remain vigilant against scammers and keep in mind that fraudsters are “experts” at impersonating people, trusted organisations and authorities.

Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Criminal gangs are ruthlessly exploiting this pandemic to commit fraud, so it’s vital we all work together to beat them.

“Always take a moment to stop and think if you receive a request to make a payment from someone claiming to be from an organisation you trust.

“Instead, contact the company or organisation directly using a known email or phone number, like the one on their official website,” she advised.