As Christmas Day fast approaches, many of us will be frantically last-minute shopping to ensure a Christmas to remember, not least after last year’s lockdown Christmas.
Typically, UK households spend around £740 more than normal during the month of December, according to the
Bank of England. While this is good news for the economy, it’s not so good for cash strapped families – and it’s the opportunistic fraudster’s paradise.
The stresses of the holidays can make all of us vulnerable – and easy prey to increasingly sophisticated scams devised by scammers who love nothing more than to target us when we are most distracted.
To help keep you safe this Christmas, we’ve put together a list of the 12 Scams of Christmas to look out for to avoid festive misery.
1. Subscription trap
Scammers offer you a free gift or trial offer if you pay postage to receive a ‘free gift’ – but you may unwittingly be setting up a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) which allows them to take any amount out of your bank account at any time.
2. Fake charities
Fraudsters love playing on our charitable nature especially at Christmas. Check the ID of any street collectors and the Charity Commission register to verify that a charity is legitimate before giving.
If you receive marketing emails, check the header or hover your mouse over any links to make sure it is genuine. Make sure the name of the charity website domain is correct. E.g. www.charityname.co.uk/donate. If in doubt go to…
