Title: What do people in the UK really think about fraud?
Question: Who’s the most at risk of fraud?
Responder: Older male with glasses.
“I think pensioners mainly because they trust people.”
Responder: Young female with curly hair.
“Maybe the elderly, because they’re kind of less aware of these things.”
Responder: Young female with cream jumper and earphones.
“The younger generation sort of know what’s going on, more up to date with things.”
[It’s actually people aged 25-34 who are most likely to be scammed*. But anyone can get caught out.]
[2 out of 3 people who report fraud to us are 44 or younger*.]
[*Fraud reported to Lloyds Banking Group between January 2022 and July 2023.]
Question: Can you trust a seller online?
Responder: Young female with cream jumper and earphones.
“You need to check to see if they've got a feed, see how many friends they've got.”
Responder: Young female with backpack.
“I try and see if they’ve sold something before so they’ve got a few more comments and reviews.”
[A seller may be recommended, have good reviews, pictures and followers. But it could all be fake.]
[A genuine seller won't rush you or try to get you to pay by bank transfer.]
Question: If you’re buying something online, would you pay by bank transfer?
Responder: Male with glasses, coat and backpack.
“Oh you’ve got to pay somehow, but yeah, I don’t inherently think that using a bank transfer is a bad idea.”
[Money paid to a fraudster by bank transfer will be moved out of the account straight away. So it's almost impossible to get back.]
[The safest way to pay is by credit or debit card.]
Question: Is it really your bank calling?
Responder: Older male with glasses.
“I don’t think the bank could just call me out of the blue.”
Responder: Young female with cream jumper and earphones.
“A straight up phone call, maybe asking for details, I probably would just decline it like a lot of calls.
Responder: Male with glasses, coat and backpack.
“I think one of my options is just to end that call and phone back the organisation that is claiming to call me.”
[Fraudsters use your personal information to convince you they’re calling from your bank.]
Responder: Young female with backpack.
“One of the ways I try and find out is I know that my bank has sent me texts and emails in the past saying we’ll never ask for your bank details. And usually a trigger for these people is they will ask you to read out things off a debit card or from your bank details. And so when I hear that, then that’s a trigger for me to go, I don’t think they’re really from the bank at all.”
[We will never call to tell you to move your money to another account.]
Question: How many people in the UK are scammed each year?
Responder: Young female with tattoos and piercings.
“Twenty thousand, something like that?”
Responder: Young female with curly hair.
“A hundred thousand people?”
Responder: Male with nose piercing.
“Eight hundred thousand.”
[Over a million people get scammed each year and this number keeps going up.]
[Let’s work together to stop the scammers.]
[Explore the Halifax Fraud Hub for more tips.]
