Sadly, scams are increasing, and the bank has warned certain groups are more susceptible – especially when it comes to purchase scams. On average, Santander said from January to November 2022, men were scammed out of £1,017.73, while women were scammed out of £756.85.
Christmas and New Year have been identified as the most active periods for scams to surface, and people have been urged to stay alert.
Santander shared the story of a man known only as Mr W, 29, who was sadly reeled in by a scam.
The 29-year-old spotted a van for sale online and contacted the seller in the hopes of showing his interest.
To do his due diligence, Mr W decided to undertake his own checks to ensure the details matched what the seller had told him.
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However, the seller told him he had family issues, and the pair agreed to delay until the following weekend.
Once the next weekend arrived, Mr W called the seller to arrange pick up of the van, but this time there was no response.
Confused, the 29-year-old headed to the pickup address, but no one was home and no van was present at the property.
It was a neighbour who told Mr W the person who lived at the address did not have the name of the seller he’d communicated with, and they had never seen a van parked there.
Only then did Mr W realise he’d been part of an elaborate scam, leaving him thousands of pounds out of pocket.
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