The Top Scams to Watch Out For During the COVID-19 Crisis

For scammers and con artists, where there’s a crisis there’s an opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has unfortunately been no exception, as an upswing of online scams has seen Brits conned out of about £1.6M so far. The rise has been cause for extra vigilance to ensure ourselves and our loved ones are not falling victim to these unfortunate crimes.

While we may think we know a bogus email when we see one, experts in the field have warned us that scammers are inventing new ways to target people which could catch the best of us off guard. Just by knowing the types of scams going around, you will have a more trained eye for spotting these sorts of things as soon as they happen.

Manchester-based company Expert Pension Claims – who specialise in pension mis-selling & SIPP claims, has put together a guide on what to look for during this time, to help you and yours stay safe. Take a look…

Top Financial Scams to Watch Out For During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

TV Licensing fraud

As you may have seen in the news, there is a particular issue currently with TV licensing fraud, to the point where certain police forces have issued press releases, warning us all to stay safe. You may receive an email saying you have an overdue balance of £12 or a similar amount, with a message to say your licence has been cancelled. Ultimately you are being asked to part with your money, having been led to believe you are in debt to the official TV licensing authorities. It may look something like this.

Max, from Manchester, received such an email and said he knew immediately that it was fake. He said: “My spam filters didn’t catch this email – but I knew it was a scam email from the get go as my TV License is registered with another email.

 “I took a closer look at the email and noticed the account number was different to the one I had. I also found it “fishy” the fact that instead of saying my name at the start of the email it had my email address.

 “I hovered my cursor over the CTA button which revealed the URL and saw it went to a different URL from the official TV licensing website.

 “With so many scam emails and as they’re getting harder to identify, I find myself checking a number of emails on a daily basis to double check them. A number of websites also have guidance on their emails and how to spot a scam email which can be useful to use as a reference if you’re unsure.”

Pension scams

Pension-related scams are nothing new – but they are certainly on the rise during these times, as scammers look to target the vulnerable. Sadly, to them, this means targeting those who are a little older, as they are assumed to be less tech-savvy or not as vigilant as someone younger and more aware of the cyber world.

Get help for pension or investment mis-selling

If you think you were given bad advice or pressured into a decision with your pension, a  SIPP product, or with a high risk investment, there’s every chance you could be entitled to a payout. Whether this has taken place during the pandemic or not, you are quite within your rights to find out what you are entitled to.

Get in touch with Expert Pension Claims today and they’ll be able to tell you if you are able to proceed.

Note: This guide is not necessarily a reflection of services offered by Expert Pension Claims

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Charles Knox 1393 Articles
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