TSB warning to every bank customer over impersonation fraud as cases soar by 300%
20.04.2022 - 14:19
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
TSB is warning people to be on the lookout for scammers as reported cases of impersonation fraud have surged by 300% since 2019.
Impersonation fraud is an attack in which a criminal impersonates a company, business, organisation or individual as a key component to lure unsuspecting people into sending money to them. The bank said the average victim of such a fraud loses around £4,000, with Royal Mail, Amazon and BT being among the most-well known brands being used to dupe people.
New industry figures from Action Fraud show there has been more than £2 billion worth of reported fraud in less than a year.
Paul Davis, director of fraud prevention at TSB, said: "Households are bombarded with scam calls, texts and emails every day.
"We're urging them to remain suspicious of any unsolicited contact, to avoid falling victim to fraud at a time when the impact would be hardest felt."
TSB said that in 2021 more than half of customers' transactions to fraudsters by value was due to impersonation fraud.
It also found that more than half of the money lost due to impersonation fraud was from criminals pretending to be from a bank, who claimed their victim's account was under attack and money had to be transferred to a "safe account".
Authority fraud, when imposters claim to be from official organisations like the police, HMRC, the National Crime Agency or the NHS, made up 13% of the total value lost.
Tech support and phone provider fraud made up 9% of losses, TSB's analysis of customer data found, with BT, Virgin and Sky used most, when fraudsters pretend to offer speed increases or help with software.
Eight per cent of the total loss was from swindlers pretending to be from delivery companies like Royal Mail, Hermes and DPD, while 7% was