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When a scammer pretends to be someone or work for a company that you have reason to trust – this is an impersonation scam. They could pretend to work for the police, your bank, HMRC, your GP, your phone provider or even a delivery company.
According to UK Finance, in 2022 there were a total of 45,367 investment scams reported, costing victims a total of £177.6 million.
Impersonation scams usually start with cold calls, phishing emails, or scam text messages. The scammer may already have your name, phone number and email address due to a data breach, so be wary.
Depending on the type of impersonation scam, how the criminal attempts to extort money from you will differ. Someone pretending to be from your bank may contact you and claim that your account is in danger. They might even instruct you to transfer your money to a “safe account”. Scammers pretending to work for HMRC will claim that you owe tax or that you have been overpaid, while a delivery impersonation scammer will claim that you have a small shipping fee to pay.
There are many red flags to look out for to avoid being scammed by a fraudster.
Always be careful when speaking with strangers, especially if they say they work for a trusted organisation. They likely even know key details about you, like your name, email, address, and bank provider.
Scammers often claim that there is an important deadline. They may say that you have not paid tax and face legal action, or that your bank has been compromised and that you urgently need to move money to a safe account. It is unlikely a genuine organisation would apply this pressure
Official communication from legitimate companies or organisations should not have misspellings or grammatical mistakes.
Scammers often make mistakes in their messages, which may serve as a quick way of staying safe. Be careful if their message appears unprofessional or poorly written.
Be suspicious of any requests for money or sensitive information, such as passwords, or bank account details. Legitimate organisations like your bank will never ask for this information through unsolicited messages.
Granting remote access allows a scammer to see and control everything on your computer. This could compromise your banking details or worse, allow them to plant a virus or keylogger to steal your details over time. If someone you do not know contacts you, do not give them access to your computer unless you are sure they are trustworthy.
You will never be asked by a legitimate company to send a payment in cryptocurrency rather than by secure bank transfer.
Criminals may impersonate your bank to steal your money. They likely already have your name, and phone number, and know who your banking provider is, and they will use this to try and trick you.
Scammers often claim that there has been suspicious activity related to their target’s bank account and that the money needs to be moved to another “safe account”. This is a lie designed to get you to move your money from one you have control of, to one they have control of.
Police impersonation scammers operate in much the same way as bank scammers. They will typically call their victim, claiming that their local bank branch has been compromised and instruct them to move their money for “safekeeping”.
HMRC scams are one of the most common types of impersonation scams we see. Victims are contacted via phone call, email or text message and notified that they have an outstanding bill that must be paid immediately. This is a lie designed so that the scammer can steal the victim’s money.
Delivery scams are one of the most common kinds of text message scams. Victims receive a scam email or text message claiming that they must pay a small one-time fee before a package can be delivered. The fee is small enough that the target does not worry about it, but the scammer can then use the details provided to steal a much larger amount of money.
Service provider scams can take different forms, but a common tactic is scammers posing as broadband providers. In these instances, the scammer makes a phone call to the victim, claiming that their router has been hacked or has an issue. The scammer requests remote access to the victim’s computer using a program like AnyDesk, TeamViewer or LogMeIn to “fix” the issue. In reality, the scammer is gaining access to the victim’s computer, all their files, and potentially, their online banking information.
Widowed grandad, 80, loses £17k to scam just days before moving 300 miles to new home
Source: The Express
Great-grandmother, 81, is scammed out of £21,000 after she was duped into paying for a bogus Covid test before fraudsters emptied her bank account
Source: Daily Mail
Impersonation scammers use a range of tactics to target victims, often initiating contact through scam phone calls, text messages, phishing emails, and social media. They typically appear urgent to get a response and be taken seriously. Furthermore, scammers may use information taken from data breaches to personalise their approaches and be more persuasive.
For instance, phishing emails could contain details about the victim’s workplace, bank provider or phone company to lend credibility to their scam. Similarly, phone calls, scam messages, and social media interactions may exploit personal or financial data to build and exploit the trust of the victim.
If you have suffered an impersonation scam, it is possible to recover your money, but you must first report the bank fraud to the police and your banking provider.
You should provide as many details as possible about the scam, including any platforms used, screenshots or transcripts of the exchanges, screenshots of any images used by the scammer, and details of any transactions made.
If your bank is unwilling to help you get your money back, you can seek help from an experienced fraud recovery firm like CEL Solicitors.
At CEL Solicitors we have helped thousands of people to recover their money following an impersonation scam. Whether you have lost money or crypto assets, we can help. Start your recovery by calling 0808 273 0900 or claiming online.
Online scammers exploit the popularity of cryptocurrencies to steal money
Scammers often pose as banks, the police, government, or other trusted organisations
Fraudsters offer fake investment opportunities with promises of high returns
Criminals dupe victims into paying upfront for goods or services.
Online scammers exploit emotions, tricking victims into sending money
Victims unwittingly authorise payments, deceived by fake sellers in purchase scams
Individuals or businesses pay fake invoices, inadvertently sending funds to the scammer
Scammers offer work-from-home opportunities with up-front costs and withdrawal fees
Our team of recovery experts are on hand to help you get your money back.
