New “Number Spoofing” fraud alert
29/10/2014
Criminals have started to use a new technique to try and get peoples bank details called “number spoofing”.
Financial Fraud Action UK’s (FFA UK) have advised that the scam involves criminals cloning a telephone number of an organisation they are trying to impersonate, such as a bank, police officers or other trusted companies to make the victim believe they are talking to someone who can be trusted. They then attempt to get the victim to hand over their life savings into a holding account or to reveal their bank details so the criminals can access their account themselves.
The criminal will then gain the person’s trust by drawing their attention to the number, claiming that this is proof of their identity, before trying to defraud them. Businesses are also being targeted, as well as some well off individuals.
FFA UK intelligence unit – the Financial Fraud Bureau – has reported that the scam has become increasingly common in recent weeks. Whilst the technology needed to spoof someone’s number has existed for years, only recently have criminals begun using it to defraud people.
Commenting, Craig Jones, spokesperson for FFA UK said:
“Number spoofing is becoming increasingly common and it’s not difficult for the criminals to fake a caller ID. So if a number appears on your phone’s caller ID display, you shouldn’t assume you know where the call is being made from. Remember that if a caller is trying to draw your attention to the number on your phone display, it’s very unlikely the call is genuine as there is no legitimate reason to point it out.”
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Barclays Bank customers hit by computer problem
A number of Barclays Bank customers were unable to withdraw money yesterday after a power outage caused the company's LINK ATM service to go down for a 20 minute period. This comes only days after the company announced a deal to outsource handling of its ATMs to NRC Corporation although the company furiously denies claims that the "outage" is in any way connected to the outsourcing deal. A numb...
Read MoreIslamic banking struggling in the UK
Launched in a blaze of glory just a few years ago, Islamic banking in the UK is struggling to survive at this moment in time with the likes of Lloyds bank, the initial main stream provider of Islamic banking in the UK, withdrawing a number of Shariah-based mortgages over the last few months. It seems that a lack of competition and a lack of demand within the UK have impacted short-term growth pros...
Read MoreSantander launches attack on the UK
Spanish giant Santander, the owner of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley, is a name which few in the UK would recognise at first glance. Despite the fact it is one of Spain's leading financial institutions it has chosen so far to keep its name out of the UK market and instead concentrated on the Abbey and Bradford & Bingley brand names. However, as of Monday we will see a number of Abbey and Bradford &...
Read MoreBuilding societies struggling to keep pace with UK banks
The building society movement is starting to feel the pain of the UK recession as base rates fall to record lows and many building society savers are looking elsewhere to invest their money. Even though there has been a change in funding options for the UK building society sector, individual building society still very much depend upon savers deposits to fund their mortgage, loan and other busines...
Read MoreBarclays Bank nears sale of iShares division
It has been confirmed that Barclays Bank is in advanced exclusive discussions with private equity house CVC regarding the sale of its iShares division. In a complex deal which is thought to be worth around £3 billion it looks as Barclays Bank will be selling off all but the most profitable stock lending operation - although 70% of the purchase price could be met by a loan from Barclays itself tho...
Read More