SAVERS have been hit hard by the pandemic which not only brought with it a range of economic difficulties, but also allowed scammers to take advantage of the unrest. Unfortunately, as 2022 kicks off tomorrow, Britons will still need to face off against a range of scams.
Britons were forced to shift their priorities over the last couple of years, as the pandemic led to businesses, consumers and criminals to focus on the online world more than ever. As coronavirus sped up the shift to an all-encompassing online world, a huge increase in cybercrime was seen.
Criminals take advantage of higher online activity
Action Fraud, Cifas, and UK Finance collectively received 822,276 fraud reports in 2019-20. Of which, 698,934 (85 percent) were online based scams.
The National Crime Agency also stated that, roughly, just 20 percent of scams are reported which highlighted the UK could be looking at a total figure of around 3,494,670 cases of cybercrime every year. In monetary terms, there was a £2.3billion reported loss, which means a possible total figure of around £11.5billion in just one year.
Based on growing trends and statistics, Holly Andrews, Managing Director at KIS Finance, predicted what the biggest online scams of 2022 will be.
For the coming year, Britons will need to keep an eye out for cryptocurrency, NHS vaccine, NHS Covid pass and Payment diversion scams.
Cryptocurrency investment scams
Cryptocurrency investment has ramped up in recent years as the price of certain digital assets skyrocketed. Namely, Bitcoin and Dogecoin both saw their prices rise rapidly in 2021. However, with these gains came the rising likelihood of fraud. According to Action Fraud, £146.2million was lost to crypto scams between January and October 2021 alone.
This was almost 30 percent more than the amount that was lost throughout the whole of 2020. The average loss per victim was £20,500, making this a particularly damaging scam with the potential for huge losses.
Ms Andrews commented: “It’s very important to watch out for adverts on social media as this is a very common tactic that these scammers use. They will often use a photo of a well known celebrity or social media influencer with fake testimonials making it look like they endorse the investment firm or product.
“They will also promise high returns in a short space of time in order to appeal to those who are looking for a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. But, as we know, cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and it would be impossible to guarantee a profit, so genuine investment firms would never make this statement.
“Before making an investment into cryptocurrencies, it’s very important that you check the FCA Register to ensure that you’re dealing with an authorised firm. You can also check the FCA’s Warning List for companies to avoid. And always remember, if something seems too good to be, then it most likely is.”
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