Jen Brister on avoiding purchase scams

UK Finance’s Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign is warning parents to be wary of fake social media ads and websites this Black Friday. This comes from new figures showing more than one in four (27%) parents have fallen victim to purchase scams.

A purchase scam is where a person makes a payment for goods or services that never turn up. Criminals often advertise technology products like phones or computers at low prices to attract buyers, persuading them to make bank transfers, then disappearing once the payment is made. They generally do this either through fake websites or fake ads on social media.

The new report finds that purchase scams are the most common kind of authorised fraud, accounting for two-thirds of all cases. The volume of purchase scam cases has grown by 43% in just one year, from 53,907 in the first half of 2022 to 76,946 in the first half of 2023. The amount stolen from victims in this period also rose by 31% to £40.9 million.

Aston spoke to comedian Jen Brister and Paul Maskall, fraud expert at UK Finance.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash