Other Electronic Fraud types

Information about the various types of electronic fraud.

On this page:

Account takeover and phone redirection

Advanced fee fraud

Business telephony fraud

Cold callers – eg Microsoft scam, PPI refunds

Account takeover and phone redirection

This is where the victim's phone company is contacted to temporarily redirect calls to a new number.

The fraudster, who has the victim's banking details, then makes transfers between the victim's account. Then make transfers to their own account.

Sometimes the victim's account has received loans. These have been applied for by the fraudster who then transfers the money to their own account.

Advanced fee fraud

This is a popular crime with organised crime groups based overseas.

They involve requests to help move large sums of money with the promise of a large share of the cash in return.

Business telephony fraud

This is a type of electronic fraud where a company's internal telecommunications system is 'hijacked' by criminals.

It is used either to redirect calls or to dial premium rate telephone numbers. The revenue from this is then paid to the criminals.

By using autodialler programmes, the criminals can make multiple calls at the same time. Each call makes money, sometimes thousands of pounds before the fraud is detected.

Cold callers – eg Microsoft scam, PPI refunds

Computer repair scam – this scam is usually from fraudsters based overseas.

The fraudster telephones the victim at random. They then tell them they are from Microsoft or another similar company. They tell the victim that they have viruses on their computer.

The fraudster asks for access to the victim's computer. They then spend a lot of time (sometimes up to 2 hours) on the phone whilst interfering with the victim's computer.

After some time the fraudster requests bank details to make payment for the work they have done.

They have not done any work but may have copied files and gotten personal information.

PPI refunds - again it is believed this is generally conducted from overseas.

The victim gets a phone call from the fraudster telling them that they are entitled to a large PPI refund.

To get a refund, the victim is told they must first pay fees or taxes. The payments are usually requested via Ukash or a similar money voucher service.

False job offers

There are different kinds of this type of fraud. The most common is the fraudster advertising for a job position such a night porter, cleaner or mystery shopper.

The mystery shopper scam is advertised as a job on sites such as Gumtree. The victim is sent out forged travellers cheques or stolen bank cheques. They are then asked to put them into their own bank account.

Sometimes the funds clear without the forgery or the stolen cheque being noticed.

The victim is then asked to make a purchase somewhere such as Tesco with the funds. They are told to keep some of the funds and to send the remainder to the fraudster, often at a London address.

However, a week or two after the cheques have been lodged they are uncovered by the banking system and the victim can be left out of pocket.

Often the jobs are advertised claiming to be from local businesses.

Emails are sent out with application forms and requests for sizing for uniforms. The victim is often asked to send a copy of their passport.

The victim is notified that they have got the job and need to attend an induction or training course at some time in the future.

In order for the job position to be finalised the victim is asked to forward a sum of money (usually around £50 or £60) by Ukash voucher.

They must also pay for advanced background checks or administration. They are told this money will be reimbursed.

A week or two later, they realise they have been scammed.

Loan scams

The fraudster registers with loan brokerage site. Then when the victim enters their details into the site the fraudster offers them a loan.

The victims often have poor credit ratings and may be struggling financially.

The fraudster then requests various sums of money up front for administration fees etc and the victim never receives their loan.

Payment is often requested by online money voucher such as Ukash.

Paypoint scam

The fraudster telephones a business that processes Paypoint transactions. They then claim to be an engineer calling from Paypoint.

The fraudster tells the victim that there is a problem with the processing of Ukash vouchers. In order to fix the problem the fraudster gets the victim to carry out Ukash transactions. The Ukash numbers are then passed to the fraudster.

The fraudster then spends or launders the vouchers through money transfer sites or online betting sites.

This 'technique' has also been used in relation to Moneygram transfers.

Property let scam

There are two main types of this type of fraud:

1) the fraudster places an advert for accommodation on a site such as Gumtree.

Then when the victim responds to the advert the alleged property owner (the fraudster) is out of the country but will return to show the victim the property.

However, to prove his time isn't being wasted, the victim is asked to send money to a relative via Western Union and send a copy of the receipt to the fraudster.

The fraudster then takes the money and leaves the victim out of pocket.

2) the fraudster hacks into a genuine property letting website (usually for properties to let abroad) and intercepts customer emails.

The fraudster then passes himself off as the genuine property owner. They then get people to transfer money into their account.

Safe account fraud

This type of scam has become more common in recent times.

The victim receives a call from someone pretending to be calling from a credit card agency or the victim's own bank.

The fraudster tells them there's been suspicious activity on their bank account, To stop to stop any further loss, the victim should transfer all their money into a 'safe account'.

The fraudster then instructs the victim to hang up the phone and call the number on the back of their bank card.

The victim doesn't realise that the fraudster has kept the line open.

The fraudster, then pretending to be a bank official, provides the victim with details of the 'safe account'. They are then told how to transfer the money in their account.

The fraudster may request online banking information from the victim to carry out the transfer on their behalf.

SIM swap fraud

What is SIM swap fraud?

Sim swapping involves a fraudster managing to get hold of your mobile phone by convincing

the phone provider to transfer the service to a SIM in their possession.

This lets them take control of your mobile phone number, which means they can potentially hijack your calls and texts, as well as your online banking details and 2 factor authorisation codes/one time passwords.

How the scam works

This scam begins with a fraudster gathering personal details about you, either by Phishing emails, social engineering, previous data breaches or reading your social media posts.

The fraudster can then pretend to be you, using this information to pass any security checks requested by your phone service provider. The fraudster can then instruct your phone provider to route your phone number to the fraudster’s SIM card.

The fraudster will then have access to any incoming phone calls and text messages, including one-time passwords to gain access to your financial and social media accounts.

Things to look out for

You’ve lost the ability to make calls or texts: You may notice that your mobile is no longer connecting, and you are unable to make calls or texts. This is one of the first signs that you could be a victim of SIM swapping.

You receive a notification of activity elsewhere: Your mobile phone provider may notify you that your SIM card or phone number has been activated on a different device.

You lose access to accounts: If your login credentials no longer work for things like online banking. If this happens contact your bank and other organisations immediately.

Contacts receiving requests for money: Your contacts have started receiving requests for money from you that you have no knowledge of.

What to do if you think your SIM card has been swapped

Call your network provider immediately: If you receive unsolicited text or email about your SIM being ported or a PAC request, or you unexpectedly lose phone service, you will need to notify your provider.

Inform your banks as soon as possible: The fraudster may attempt to make a money transfer online or over the phone and therefore alert the bank so they can stop any unauthorised transactions.

You can also record your details with cifas the fraud prevention service to apply for protective registration. Once you have registered you should be aware that CIFAS members will carry out extra checks to IDENTIFY when anyone, including you, applies for a financial service, such as a loan, using your address.

CIFAS–The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service

6^th Floor

Lynton House

7-12 Tavistock Square

LondonWC1H 9LT

www.cifas.org.uk

How to protect yourself in the future

Contact your network provider to secure your mobile account and ask what protection they offer to stop this from happening again.

Don’t respond to unsolicited emails, texts, phone calls or click on any unverified links (Phishing attempts). These may allow fraudsters to access personal data which can then be used to convince the mobile phone network or bank that they are you.
Don’t overshare personal details on social media. Avoid sharing your birth date or that of children or other relatives or other common password recovery phrases such as the name of your first pet or school.
Turn on two-step Verification (2SV) which is also known as two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA), helps to keep cyber criminals out of your accounts, even if they know your passwords.
Use a password consisting of three random words that only you will know and which are unique. You could add uppercase letters, numbers and symbols to make It more secure.
Always keep your device’s software up to date.

Support and Wellbeing:

If you have been a victim of crime and it is not an ongoing emergency, you can report this to Police Scotland by calling 101. For all emergency calls, please dial 999.