Figures from UK Finance – a trade association representing the UK finance and banking industry – revealed more than 19,000 people were targeted by Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams in the first half of 2017. The fraud has cost customers more than £100 million, with
More than a million people have been tricked into downloading a fraudulent version of WhatsApp. Titled “Update WhatsApp Messenger”, the app appeared completely genuine. Instead it flooded users with ads and persuaded them to install other programs. User-enabled App fraud cases are growing because they
Irish mobile users are experiencing an increase in Wangiri fraud. Mobile users will miss a call and when they return it accrue a large phone bill. In April, New Zealand had a similar wave of Wangiri fraud, originating from Poland and Chad. Mobile providers and
More than 40% of European consumers use mobile banking on their smartphones. While apps such as mobile banking and payments have helped simplify personal finance management, they also require a user’s personal information. Most banking apps have software that verifies a user’s identity when they
On September 7th 2017, Equifax – a consumer credit reporting agency – announced it had been hacked. 143 million American citizens had their data exposed, and 400,000 people in the UK were at risk of a similar fate. Public data Following the cyber-attack, Equifax revealed
The internet contributes 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). When devices break or slow down, users are often desperate to get computer issues fixed as quickly as possible. This urgency is leaving people vulnerable to a new wave of tech support scammers. An estimated
A report from Cifas – the UK’s dedicated fraud prevention service – has found that a record 89,000 cases of identity theft occurred in the first half of this year. Identity fraud has now reached epidemic levels, up 5% on the same period last year.
Scam artists are moving away from calling phones and targeting victims through text messages instead. Their new method: Smishing (SMS-Phishing). What is Smishing? Smishing works in much the same way as a contemporary phishing e-mail, but the scam is sent by Short Message Service (SMS)
Fraudsters are business people. When one route to generate revenue is closed, they will open another. Equally, when one issue for a network operator disappears, it is commonplace for that revenue loss to move to another method of fraud, rather than disappearing entirely. For the
According to the U.S. Fairtrade Commission, cases of SIM swap fraud have increased by more than 150% since 2013. Now, with more than 2,658 cases a year, the fraud is becoming increasingly popular for its sheer simplicity. But what is it exactly and how can
Many of us think nothing of using public Wi-Fi networks to catch up on emails, browse the web or check social media. However, you could be inadvertently giving away more information than you think. Many opportunistic criminals hack public Wi-Fi systems or even create their
On the 27th June, four people were arrested over their links to computer service software fraud – the third most reported fraud type in the UK, with 12% of reports made to Action Fraud UK concerning the issue. The average loss from this kind of