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73% of Britons have experienced a fraud attempt

12th July 2013 Print

Nearly three quarters of the UK's population has experienced some type of fraud attempt, according to a survey by first direct.

And 55% of those who said they'd experienced a fraud attempt said it was carried out online.
 
Nearly a third said they were aware of more than five fraud attempts, with over half saying they'd received an email from an apparent ‘bank‘ requesting some of their secure personal information.  Advance fee frauds, where people are asked for a sum of money to help secure a much larger sum e.g. the Nigerian 419 scam, were also seen frequently with one in three saying they'd been targeted for this type of fraud.
 
Types of fraud seen most regularly

Fake emails claiming to be from a Bank requesting secure personal information, such as PINs and account login details 53%

Advance-fee frauds (asking for a sum of money to help secure a much larger sum e.g. Nigerian 419 scam) 29%

Imposter phone calls claiming to be from well-known organisations, such as broadband providers or software firms, asking for access to personal computers 23%

Debit card fraud (duplication of one or more of your bank cards) 14%

Fake lotteries 14%

Fake charities 10%

Imposter phone calls claiming to be from a bank^ asking for personal information, such as PINs and account login details 8%

Identity theft, such as application fraud 7%
 
Non-investment fraud (e.g. selling items with no intention of shipping it or sending a faulty or harmful substitute) 7%
 
Online ‘Friending' or dating fraud (befriending a person online and receiving requests from this new friend^ because they have incurred financial difficulty) 5%

Over 55s were most likely to be preyed upon with three quarters saying they'd been contacted in some way by fraudsters. The youngest age group of 16 to 24 year olds were the least likely to experience a fraud attempt with four in ten saying they'd never experienced one. 
 
However, the number of fraud attempts seen doesn't seem to have dinted the public's confidence in using their computer to make transactions.  81% said they'd make a purchase online and 70% said they'd bank online.
 
Andy Forbes, Head of Product at first direct commented: "At first direct we're very proud of our track record of protecting our customers when it comes to fraud.  We know that it is a subject close to our customers' hearts which is why we offer our online fraud guarantee which ensures a full refund for any customer who loses money through a computer crime.
 
"However prevention is better than a cure, so we support software to ensure a secure connection between customers' computers and our internet banking, helping to ensure they are genuinely accessing first direct's website."