As the UK grapples with its cost-of-living crisis, scammers are taking advantage of people’s increased financial vulnerability.
Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, one case of fraud was reported to Action Fraud every 85 seconds, with total losses amounting to over £3 billion.
A total of 370,310 individual cases were reported, each resulting in average losses of £8,1001.
In June, Citizens Advice warned that more than three quarters of UK adults have been targeted by a scam in 2022 — a 14% increase on the same time last year.
With day-to-day living costs rising, scammers are likely to target those who are struggling, with schemes that run the gamut from impersonating energy market regulator Ofgem to offering fake pension advice.
Below are five common scams in 2022.
Ofgem impersonators
The UK’s fraud reporting centre, ActionFraud, has warned energy customers of a scam involving messages claiming to be from energy regulator Ofgem.
These fake emails and texts direct customers to a copycat version of the Ofgem website, where they are asked to provide bank details to receive the government’s £400 energy rebate.
Ofgem says it never requests details over email or text, and asks any customer who receives this message to report it.
Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “It is important to be extra vigilant and be wary of scams amid the rollout of various government cost of living…
