One in five people lost money to scams in the past year, report reveals
Mobile networks to bolster defences to stop ‘spoof’ calls
- A new agreement between the UK government and industry aims to bolster mobile network defences against scam calls, making it more difficult for criminals to defraud people.
- Mobile networks are committed to upgrading their infrastructure within the next year to prevent foreign call centres from spoofing UK numbers and to roll out advanced call tracing technology.
- A recent report indicated that one in five British adults lost money to scams in the year leading up to March, with 24 per cent encountering scam attempts multiple times each week.
- The research, conducted by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, Cifas, and Tietoevry Banking, found that millennials lost an average of £1,456.90 to scams, considerably more than the gen X age group.
- Beyond financial losses, scams, particularly shopping or purchase fraud, significantly impact victims' mental wellbeing, with 34 per cent reporting moderate to significant adverse effects.