Think you’re street smart? Take this quiz to see how scam savvy you are
Don’t let criminals play a Trick Of The Mind on you
As a student, you’re always trying to find ways to save money. You spend the majority of the year skint in your overdraft, counting down the days before that sweet, sweet student loan drops. Then once you’re in the money, you’ll do anything to make sure it’s not going anywhere. So, how can you protect your money and ensure it doesn’t fall into the hands of a scammer?
You might think that you’d be able to sniff out a scam but criminals are experts at impersonating people and organisations and sometimes it can be hard to see through their tricks. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment.
Criminals use their powers of deception to impersonate people and organisations you trust to trick you into sharing personal and financial information.
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In fact, under 25s are more likely than older age groups to have been targeted in an impersonation scam and also be swayed to provide personal or financial information, according to new research by UK Finance’s Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign.
The research shows younger adults are more confident than older age groups in their ability to identify a scam with 91 per cent of 18-24-year-olds saying they are confident that they would be able to spot a fake request for personal information online. However, this level of confidence could put them at risk, as only a quarter of young people (27 per cent) said they will always take steps to check if the organisation or person can be trusted when asked for personal information out of the blue.
That’s why it’s vital to follow the advice from Take Five to Stop Fraud:
STOP and take a moment to think before parting with your money or information.
CHALLENGE requests to share personal or financial information. Ask yourself: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
And finally PROTECT. Contact your bank immediately if you think you have been scammed and report it to Action Fraud.