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Text Scammers Pestering Over One-Third of People in UK
A survey conducted by Which? shows that over one-third of people in the UK have been subjected to scam messaging in the last six months.Â
Brits are still at great risk of text and online messaging scams, according to consumer services group, Which?
One-third of people who text have received scam messages in the last six months, with 7% of those losing personal data, money or both to fraudsters. Despite such a high number of people receiving scam messages, only 39% of people reported they had been contacted or harassed.
Life-Changing Scams
Scam messages can lead to people losing life-changing sums of money and have a devastating effect. With the popularity of social media also comes a new method by which fraudsters can target people.
Facebook Messenger was the second-most common platform used in messaging scams, with around 16% of users receiving fraudulent messages in the last six months. This platform was followed by popular messaging app, WhatsApp, which saw 10% of people contacted.
According to the survey, fake HMRC messages were the most common, with 42% of people claiming they had received sinister text correspondence from the tax service.
Consumer Rights editor Adam French, said: “We found that a frightening number of people are still receiving scam messages, not only leaving them vulnerable to the loss of their hard-earned cash but also sensitive personal information.”
French added that firms must take immediate action to tackle the issue and told consumers to remain vigilant and report any fraudulent activity.
He said: “Firms must urgently prioritise building the systems needed to stop these messages from reaching peoples’ devices.
“While we await action on this, it’s important that people remain as vigilant as possible. Stop and think about a message you receive before engaging in communication. The problem is still rife – any unexpected messages could well be a scam.”
Fooling Consumers
Fraudsters often employ a number of methods to fool people. According to the survey, the second and third most common methods employed by scammers were competitions and injury claims; with 34% receiving messages saying they were a winner and 32% contacted over fake injury claims.
These types of scams try to tempt victims into clicking on links or calling numbers in order to pry sensitive information. Additionally, fraudsters now often use methods to make their number appear on a phone as the name of an organisation, giving people the impression they are being contacted by a legitimate organisation.
