Public warned to beware of fraud amid cost-of-living crisis

This comes as more than half of the public (56%) said they are likely to look for opportunities to make extra money in the coming months due to the rise in the cost of living.

This could leave some people more susceptible to fraud. One in six (16%) Britons said the rising cost of living meant they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone offering an investment opportunity or a loan.

Young people were more likely to be at risk. A third (34%) of those aged 18 to 34 said they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone offering an investment opportunity or a loan, with 30% saying they are also more likely to provide their personal or financial details to secure the arrangement.

Overall, three in five people (60%) say they are concerned about falling victim to financial fraud or a scam. Recent figures from UK Finance showed £609.8m was lost due to fraud and scams in the first half of 2022.

Criminals always look to exploit situations where people are concerned about their finances, seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the rising cost of living, Take Five to Stop Fraud is warning of four key scams to keep an eye on. 

This includes purchase scams, with 42% of people saying they expect they’ll start to look for cheap deals online if the cost of living continues to rise, they may be tempted by criminals’ "too good to be true" offers. Criminals will often trick people into securing a bargain by enticing them to make a quick bank transfer rather than use a more secure payment method.

Additionally, impersonation fraud is rampant in the current climate. This is when criminals convince people to make a payment or give their personal and financial details to someone claiming to be from a trusted organisation such as a bank, government organisation or energy company - for example, text messages claiming to be from your council, offering you an energy rebate.

Investment Fraud is also on the rise. In this, criminals try to convince people to move their money into a fictitious fund or to pay for what later turns out to be a fake investment.  

Finally, payment in advance fraud has been highlighted by Take Five to Stop Fraud, with one example of this being advance payment fraud in relation to loans, with criminals requesting up-front fees for loans that never materialise.