This comes as recent Barclays data shows that purchase scams – the most common type of scam, where people buy goods which never arrive or aren’t as advertised – have risen by 70 per cent, year on year.
With the festive season on the horizon along with major shopping days such as Black Friday, Barclays is launching a campaign urging people to follow their instincts when making financial decisions.
The bank’s research found three quarters (75 per cent) of people have noticed an increase in suspicious or scam related activity in the last few months and almost half (47 per cent) have been targeted by a scam by email and/or text.
Barclays data also shows that investment scams, where you’re invited to invest in something that isn’t what it seems or doesn’t exist, are the highest value fraud, and account for just under a third (31 per cent) of all money lost to scammers. Despite this, research shows that a huge 85 per cent of people choose to ignore their gut feeling when investing.
Ross Martin, Head of Digital Safety at Barclays, said: “Too often people ignore their gut feeling when making important decisions, which unfortunately can make them more vulnerable to scams. Scammers will play on your emotions and try to instill a sense of time pressure, or create a perceived scarcity – and therefore value – when making a purchase or investment.
“You should never feel rushed into buying or…
