According to recent news reports, alongside broker scams APP fraud is one of the fastest growing types of scams in the UK, with in excess of £145million being lost by UK residents in the first half of 2022 alone. It appears that all types of fraud are unfortunately on the rise in the UK, and this increase in APP fraud specifically is almost 45{d607345ec707e3a034d39ac38afc12348d434f1bdbd1d48775b4abdb2f7ea260} higher than the same timeframe in 2021. So why is it so easy for scammers to con people out of their hard earned cash? Is there anything you can do about it if you find yourself scammed out of money? And what even is APP fraud?
What is APP fraud?
There are many different methods of APP fraud, but they all centre around the perpetrators contacting victims impersonating someone from a company of authority, for example a bank, and requesting large amounts of money be moved from one account to another. When the transfer is made, the recipient account is not who they were purporting to be, and your money is lost to a scammer. Victims can be businesses, but are most frequently individuals and it could happen to anyone.
APP scams initially began gaining traction with an instant demand for money on the first point of contact, often using urgency as a reason for you to make a fast transfer of funds, but over time they have grown in sophistication. Many APP scams now build up to the request for money, making contact multiple times to build up trust with their victims before going on to ask for money.
Common scams now include Whatsapp messages pretending to be a child, parent or other relative with a “new phone number”, emails impersonating conveyancing lawyers and requesting the transfer of a house deposit or fees to a different nominated bank account, and, ironically, scammers impersonating banks and claiming your account has been a victim of fraud and you need to move money for security reasons.
How can I protect myself from APP fraud?
Whatever the reason given, you should always be cautious and ask questions if anyone contacts you out of the blue with a request for money, personal or financial information. If it’s an individual you know personally, contact them on the phone on a known contact number to confirm that the request is genuine. If a “new number” contacts you, call them rather than simply engaging with them via Whatsapp or other messaging platforms. If they don’t answer then don’t send any money or information requested until you have managed to speak to them.
If the individual contacting you is purporting to be from a company such as a bank or legal firm, never give them any information without first confirming that the contact is legitimate. State that you’re not prepared to provide information without first verifying where they are calling from. If needed, hang up and phone back using a confirmed number found on the company’s official website or other verified information.
What do I do if I get scammed?
If you do find yourself falling victim to a scam, there could potentially be ways of recovering your money. Depending on the nature of the fraud and the methods used by the scammers, your bank may be able to recover some of your money in some instances. It’s best to take independent advice from specialist investment fraud lawyers for a full assessment of potential action that could be taken.