The bank’s latest research has found that as many as seven in ten people have experienced an increase in suspicious or scam-related activity in the last three months. On the back of the warning, Barclays has issued new guidance on what to look out for.
As scams continue to rise post-pandemic, Barclays has teamed up with a chief behavioural scientist to help customers learn what to keep an eye out for.
This increase in scams is partly due to the fact scammers have become expert behavioural manipulators.
Sian McIntyre, head of economic crime at Barclays UK said: “Fraudsters really are expert social manipulators and prey on human nature to get their desired outcome.
“Our research has shown almost three-quarters of Brits have seen an increase in suspicious activity in the last three months and of those who were scammed nearly four in 10 (39 percent) didn’t report it.”
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Barclays is urging the public to be wary of the psychological tricks that scammers use. Barclays’ chief behavioural scientist Dr Pete Brooks said scammers usually apply pressure tactics, illusions of scarcity or pretending to be a trusted authority to ‘socially engineer’ their victims.
In these situations, Barclays advises people to question whether something appears too good to be true.
The guidance comes as consumer polling shows that seven in 10 Britons claim to have seen an increase in suspicious or scam-related activity in the last…
