The story of a woman who lost £48,000 as scammers used screen sharing software to fool her is one of thousands of cases that has prompted watchdog FCA to launch a campaign to tackle the scam.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said more than £25m was lost to such scams between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2022, with victims ranging in age from 18 to over 70.
Data from the watchdog shows nearly half (47%) of investors would fail to identify a screen sharing scam. This tactic is becoming more common, with the FCA registering an 86% increase in cases in one year, at 2,014 cases.
59-year-old Angela Underhill clicked on an advertisement for bitcoin and received a call from individuals claiming to be financial advisers. Offering to complete the first investment for her, they asked her to download the AnyDesk platform, which then gave the scammers open access to all the financial details on her computer.
She lost more than £48,000 while scammers accessed her banking details, her pension and applied for loans on her behalf.
Her case is among thousands the FCA has received to its consumer helpline.
Read more: FCA flags weak crime checks at challenger banks
Just 51% of would-be investors would check if a company appears on its “warning list” when deciding if an investment opportunity is legitimate in an FCA survey of 2,000 people.
Although…
