Scam safety guides
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Energy Rebate and Government Grant Scams: How to Spot Fake Support Schemes
How fake Ofgem-branded energy rebate scams work, and the one fact that always exposes them: genuine rebates are never applied by clicking a link.
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Fake Bailiff and Debt Enforcement Scams: How to Verify Before You Pay
How fake bailiff scams work, how a genuine enforcement agent actually behaves, and how to verify one using the official government register.
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‘Hi Mum, Hi Dad’ WhatsApp and Messaging Impersonation Scams
How the ‘Hi Mum, Hi Dad’ WhatsApp scam works, why it’s so effective, and the simple verification step that stops it every time.
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Ticket Scams: How to Spot Fake Concert, Festival and Sports Tickets
AARP and FTC guidance on spotting fake concert and event ticket scams, from lookalike websites to risky payment methods to avoid.
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Pension and Free Pension Review Scams: How to Protect Your Retirement Savings
FCA guidance on pension scams: why free pension reviews are a red flag, how cold calls work, and how to protect your retirement savings.
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Invoice and Business Email Compromise Fraud: How Criminals Intercept Payments
Most people picture scams targeting individuals — a fake text, a phishing email, a cold call. But one of the costliest categories of fraud specifically targets businesses, often exploiting nothing more sophisticated than a well-timed, convincing email. Business email compromise (BEC), also called payment diversion or invoice fraud, has cost businesses of every size real…
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Refund and Recovery Scams: How Fraudsters Target Previous Scam Victims Again
Losing money to a scam is distressing enough — but for many victims, it isn’t the end of the story. A significant number are contacted again, sometimes months later, by someone promising to help recover what they lost. These refund and recovery scams are a genuinely cruel second act, deliberately targeting people already known to…
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Subscription Traps and Free Trial Scams: How to Avoid Recurring Charges You Didn’t Agree To
A “free trial” or heavily discounted first month is one of the most common ways companies get you through the door — and, for a significant number of consumers, one of the most common ways to end up paying for something you meant to cancel months ago. Subscription traps aren’t always outright criminal fraud, but…
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Fake Parking Fine and DVSA Text Scams: How to Verify Before You Pay
If you’ve received a text warning of a parking or driving penalty with a link to “pay now or face court action,” you’re far from alone — the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has reported that UK drivers have received tens of thousands of these fake messages. It’s one of the most widespread smishing…
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Loan and Debt Consolidation Scams: How Fraudsters Target People in Financial Difficulty
Needing a loan or help consolidating debt often means being at a financially vulnerable moment — exactly when scammers target people hardest. Loan fee fraud, sometimes called advance fee fraud, is a scam built specifically around that vulnerability: the promise of money you need, in exchange for a fee you pay upfront. Here’s how it…