Warning of fresh scams targeting Plymouth people

People in Plymouth are being warned that fraudsters are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.

City councillors heard that scammers were targeting Government financial support schemes and exploiting people’s fears and generosity to con them out of money.

Anti-fraud expert Ken Johnson said criminals were adopting the “camouflage” of Covid-19 for their attempted cons.

Examples of scams include:

text messages claiming to be from the Government issuing fines to victims alleged to have breached stay home regulations;

fraudulent emails and texts to parents entitled to free school meals requesting bank details;

fraudsters claiming to provide the victim with a list of active infections in their area but first they have to click on a link which redirects them to a credential-stealing page, or make a donation;

fraudsters providing articles about the outbreak with a link to a fake company website where victims are encouraged to click to subscribe to a newsletter;

people facing hardship defrauded through bogus loans offers;

investment schemes and trading advice encouraging people to take advantage of the coronavirus downturn which harvest personal details or ask victims to click on fraudulent links;

emails or texts claiming to be from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs offering a tax refund. They direct victims to a fake website to harvest their personal and financial details;

fake websites offering cheap holidays with links that steal personal data and or encourage payment when no product is available;

holiday rental homes scam, where there is no rental home available;

scam emails purporting to be from the Government asking for donations to the NHS;

emails, texts, letters and telephone calls purporting to be from legitimate charities requesting financial support;

scam emails requesting details of individuals to sign up to volunteering schemes in the local area.

People are also being warned to beware of online shopping and auction scams, computer IT support cons, fraudsters trying to trick people working from home, and cons targeting investments and pensions.

Mr Johnson, counter fraud services manager for Devon Audit Partnership, said: “It affects all areas of society and the people we look after in Plymouth.”

He added: “Fraudsters prey on people’s vulnerabilities, or lack of knowledge.”

Mr Johnson told councillors working in counter-fraud was like an “arms race” – as soon as a scam was spotted it changed into something else.

He said holiday-related scams emerged after the first lockdown, and recently fraudsters had targeted free school meals.

Mr Johnson told the city council’s audit and governance committee there were 145 ongoing fraud investigations on behalf of the city council.

A half-year report on counter-fraud reported 235 allegations in the six months to the end of September.

They resulted in 13 recommended prosecutions and 21 cautions and other sanctions.

The total estimated saving to the city council during the period was £380,000.

Investigations in Plymouth have covered allegations relating to Covid-19 grants, council tax support and discounts, Blue Badge misuse, social housing, special guardianship, insurance, bus passes, parking permits and disabled facilities grants.

Mr Johnson said the service worked closely with the council which had adopted a strong anti-fraud process to handle Covid-19 business grants.

The report listed a series of websites where people can get advice about fraud:

Scamsmart https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart

ActionFraud https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

CIFAS https://www.cifas.org.uk/

TakeFive https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/

Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/check-if-something-might-be-a-scam/

Trading Standards https://www.tradingstandards.uk/

National Cyber Security Centre https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/

Fraud Advisory Panel https://www.fraudadvisorypanel.org/covid-fraud-watch-group/