Your Money: Fraudsters cast a shadow over the season of goodwill

ONE of the best things about Christmas is catching up with family members and friends we haven’t seen in a while.

But, with fraudsters targeting people via cold calls, by post, online and even on the doorstep, mutual insurer Royal London is urging families to keep a lookout over the festive season for signs that loved ones may have fallen victim to crooks.

While people of all ages can be targeted, those who may be suffering from loneliness could be particularly vulnerable, according to Royal London.

Helen Morrissey, a personal finance specialist at the firm, said: “Families have become increasingly dispersed and may not see each other as often as they would like, and so telltale signs might be missed. Making visits over the festive season can prove to be an important opportunity to make sure all is well with a loved one.”

So how can you spot signs that a loved one may have been targeted by scammers, and what can you do about it? Here are some tips from Royal London …

What should you watch out for?

While many of us get unwanted junk mail, victims of mail scams can receive large quantities of letters, promising fake prizes, for example. If someone mentions a great investment opportunity they’ve been told about, this could also be a warning sign, as many scammers reel their victims in with promises of high returns, often in unusual assets or based abroad.

How can you start a conversation with someone about your suspicions that they may have been scammed?

This can be difficult, as they may feel they have chosen a great investment opportunity, or that they have built up a good relationship with the scammer. They may also feel defensive or embarrassed, so you could be worried about an argument being triggered.

One way of tackling the tricky subject could be to find a recent news story about someone being conned as a way of starting a conversation about how people can protect themselves.

By keeping the conversation relatively light and neutral, you may find the loved one you’re concerned about starts to open up. You may not get the whole story from them at once, but try to keep the conversation flowing, rather than bombarding them with questions.

How can scams be reported?

Cases should be reported to Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk), the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, as well as Trading Standards.

What else can be done?

Unwanted marketing information can be cut out by signing up to the Mailing Preference Service and the Telephone Preference Service. More information on reducing nuisance correspondence and reporting concerns can be found at the Information Commissioner’s Office website (ico.org.uk).

You can also help your loved one by contacting their bank, to stop any suspect transfers that may be about to go through and have a chat about how to protect their account further.

If a fraudster has a lot of details about your loved one and the victim is worried about identity fraud, they may need to change information, such as passwords, to protect themselves, and check their statements for bank transfers they didn’t authorise.