Struggling families have been warned to be on their guard against heartless scams, as fraudsters capitalise on the cost of living crisis.
Fake cost of living payments, energy rebates and phoney competitions are all doing the rounds, as a report by think tank the Resolution Foundation, in collaboration with the Financial Fairness Trust, found that 1.3 million families had no savings even before the biggest cost of living crisis. The report has warned that some are reliant on friends and family when unexpected costs crop up, while while others won’t have any means of coping with them.
Consumer group Which? has rounded up the five most common scams circulating right now, with advice on how to spot and report them.
Read more: Warning over cruel WhatsApp scam that has cost victims over £1.5m this year
1. Fake cost of living payments and energy rebates
There’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the Government’s cost of living grants, which are paid on different dates and for different amounts depending on your circumstances. Fraudsters are cashing in on this and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has warned about scams regarding cost of living payments as well as energy and council tax rebates.
The Government’s cost of living scheme was announced in May and offers £650 to millions of low-income households, with the first instalment of the money transferred in the last week or so. The second won’t come until Autumn. If you are due these payments,. they will…
