Scams

A doorstep scam involves someone calling at your door to try and scam you out of some money or gain access to your home. There are different types of doorstep scams, from rogue traders to people pretending to represent charities. Callers may appear genuine, so it's important to know what to look out for.

Watch Age UK's video on spotting and dealing with doorstep scammers.

Phone scams are a common way that criminals try to get your personal or bank details.

Read Age UK's guidance about identifying different types of phone scams and how to stay safe. 

A phishing scam is when someone tries to obtain your information, such as bank details and passwords, by asking you to enter them into a website that looks genuine but is actually fake.

There have been increasing numbers of phishing scams or calls claiming to be from government departments offering grants, tax rebates or compensation, and asking you to enter your details into a fake government website.

See some examples of HMRC related phishing emails and bogus contact.

Courier fraud is when someone contacts you by telephone claiming to be a police officer or bank official and say they need your help with an investigation. Once they've gained your trust, they may ask you to hand your bank card, money or other items to a courier.

Read more about courier fraud on the Action Fraud website.

The banking industry has a duty of care to protect customers from fraud, especially those who are vulnerable.

There have been increasing numbers of bank transfer scams where you knowingly or unwittingly transfer money from your own bank account to one belonging to a scammer. Learn more about bank transfer scams.

• Always be cautious and listen to your instincts.
• Don't be afraid to hang up on a caller, bin a letter, delete an email or shut the door. Take your time and don't be rushed.
• Protect your financial information, especially from people you don't know. Never give your bank card or PIN to a stranger.

• If someone claims to represent a charity, ask them for ID.
• Be suspicious of requests for money up front.
• If someone pressures you into accepting a service, they're unlikely to be genuine. Check with family and friends before accepting offers of help if you're unsure.

• Never give out personal information or bank details over the phone.
• If you're not sure if it's a genuine call, hang up and wait 10 minutes. Call the company back using a phone number you've got on a previous letter, or one you know is genuine.

Find out more about scam phone calls.

• Never use the telephone number, web address or email that's provided in a text message.
• Always find the contact details yourself from a letter or website that you trust.
• Never reply to a suspicious text. 

Find out more about scam text messages.

• Check the senders' email address to make sure it's genuine.
• Never click on the links or download attachments from unknown senders.
• Look closely at the spelling of the web address and check for any minor inconsistencies that may indicate a phishing website.
• Spelling mistakes may point to a phishing email. 
• Use your spam filter. If you find a scam email, mark it as a spam and delete it. Then delete it again from your deleted items if you have one. This will stop the message from reaching your inbox again.
• If you've received an email which you're not quite sure is genuine, you can report it to the government's suspicious email reporting service by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Find out more about scam emails.

• Be aware of fake news and always use trusted sources such as the GOV.UK or NHS.UK websites.
• Only purchase goods from legitimate online retailers and take a moment to think before parting with money or personal information.
• Fraudsters are extremely good at creating convincing websites. These websites may look legitimate but using them could mean you're giving away your personal or bank details. Find out more about how to stay safe shopping and transacting online.