Latest scams stats - get informed!

It's never been more important to protect yourself from scams, particularly in the light of Barnet's latest scam statistics. In November 2022, during the busiest Christmas present buying period, Barnet residents lost £2.5 million to scams, and in December 2022, £442,408 was lost to scams.

Protecting yourself

Our scams advisors are there for anyone over 50 who needs one-to-one scams advice or support. We also offer group talks and presentations across Barnet to organisations supporting older people such as community groups, social groups and sheltered housing schemes. Click here for our scams prevention service.

In the meantime, here's some advice from the Metropolitan Police on Push Payments, one of the biggest scams which alone cost Barnet residents £350,000 in November.

Push Payments

Online banking makes managing money easier for the general public, however criminals are taking advantage of this ease of banking and using it to defraud the public.
Criminals can pretend to be from somewhere official, for example, your bank, or the tax office. They contact you via email, phone or social media, and then warn you of fake suspicious or criminal activity on your bank account. They state that they’ve set up a safe account for you to transfer your funds into. However, this is actually their account.

How to protect yourself
 Be suspicious of a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from a position of authority.
 Take down the person’s details (name, authority, department, branch etc.) and verify using
independent source contact details.
 A genuine official from the Police, your bank, HMRC or any other trusted authority will NEVER call you to ask you to verify your personal banking details, PIN or password, or threaten you with arrest.
 Never transfer money into another account unless you are 100% certain of the owner of the account.
 Your bank will never set up a “safe” account for you.
 If you are a victim, contact your bank as soon as possible, as they may be able to help stop the
transfer.
 Watch The Metropolitan Police video on Impersonation Fraud at www.met.police.uk/littlemedia.

REMEMBER – Your bank will never set up a “safe account”.
CAUTION – Unless you definitely know who the account belongs to, it might not be safe.
THINK – Who told me this account was safe? Have I checked their identity?

Remember:
Your bank, the police, or tax office will never ask you to attend your bank, withdraw, transfer or pay money
over the phone or send couriers to collect your card or cash. Nor would they ask you to buy goods or
vouchers.
This is a scam.
1. Hang up (Never give details or money following a cold call)
2. Take 5 (Seek a second opinion, tell someone what has happened)
3. Verify (if concerned, contact the company via a pre-confirmed method)

Stay informed

For the lastest scams, keep checking the Age UK Barnet scams page here.

All Metropolitan Police videos and electronic leaflets can be found on the following link here; 
Free cyber advice can be found here. 
Always report, Scams fraud and cyber crime to Action Fraud, either online at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by telephone on 0300 123 2040.