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The UK's Fraud Prevention Service

Copyright © CIFAS 2006 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. Printed from www.cifas.org.uk on 07 September 2010
The scammer

In an age of increasingly sophisticated fraudsters, it becomes easier to be duped by some of the scams attempted.

Whether it be a telephone call to your home number, claiming to be from your bank and asking for card numbers and passwords in order to 'change' these for your protection, or an email promising 'one click and you could win big': scams ultimately seem plausible.

Other useful links

Scam types
Avoid being a victim
Case histories
Glossary of fraud terms


This is, often, simply by playing on very basic fears (such as security and theft) or the (misplaced) trusting nature of their victims.

In all cases, there are certain things to consider:

  1. Who is the call/email/letter from and what are they offering? If it seems too good to be true, that is because it probably is!
  2. Have you initiated any contact with the company that is supposedly calling/emailing you?
  3. What are they asking for? Your service providers should never contact you and request passwords or account details.
  4. If you have received an email, phone call or equivalent - purporting to be from a company you do business with - and you are unsure of the credibility of this contact, make sure that you cease interaction immediately and contact the company yourself using their website (always type the address into the address bar yourself) or contact numbers provided to you. They will soon be able to confirm the reliability (or not) of any contact you have received.

 

 

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