Lloyds Bank issues scam alert as vulnerable pensioners targeted | Personal Finance | Finance
The number of scams rose nearly a third during the pandemic with 33 percent more reported in the year ending April 2021, according to Which?. Lloyds Bank has issued a warning and says it is working with Age UK and City of London police to tackle the issue.
Lloyds Banking Group has joined forces with City of London Police to launch the industry’s first pilot scheme using proceeds of crime to fund a series of fraud fighting programmes across the country.
It will use cash captured from fraudsters and invest it in several projects not only tackling fraud but also raise awareness.
One of these initiatives will focus on increasing education and awareness to help keep more people safe by stopping scams from happening in the first place.
It’s being rolled out in Northumberland, where Lloyds is working with Age UK to help raise awareness and support older fraud victims.
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Anyone can fall victim to fraud which experts agree has become more sophisticated over recent years.
Philip Robinson, Retail Fraud Prevention Director at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Fraud is the biggest crime in the UK and can have a devastating effect on people’s lives as well as their finances.
“Our 24/7 fraud-fighting team is working hard behind the scenes every day to help keep our customers’ money safe, but criminals are constantly finding new ways to trick people into handing over their money and they’re ready to disappear the second they have their hands on the cash.”
Amy Whyte, head of charitable services and operations at Age UK Northumberland, said it was working with the bank because nearly a million people are scammed every year.
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She said: “Scams can have a devastating effect on older victims – in England and Wales an older person becomes a victim of fraud every 40 seconds, which is over 800,000 older people every year.
“This shows us just how important this programme is to try and keep the older people in Northumberland as safe as possible when it comes to financial crime.”
Typical scams can include receiving a call from a fraudster pretending to be from the bank or the police.
However, sometimes they come in the form of a convincing text message, WhatsApp or email.
Meanwhile, Action Fraud said scammers can trick anyone but 64 percent of cases it deals with are pensioners aged between 70 and 89.
It advises people that banks or the police will never call to ask for personal details or PIN over the phone.
People should hang up if they receive a call like this.
Furthermore they should report it to Action Fraud or their bank immediately.
