Seven common scams to watch out for, and how you can claim your money back
CEL Solicitors, a law firm specialising in fraud, lists seven types of APP fraud you need to know. Plus, if you’re a victim, it explains how you can claim back your money.
The company, which is rated excellent on Trustpilot, has helped victims of fraud recover over £100 million – and it believes falling for a scam isn’t shameful or embarrassing.
“If you’ve been scammed, you’re not alone. There’s no shame—scams can happen to anyone,” said Paul Hampson, a fraud expert and joint CEO at CEL Solicitors
In fact, some types of fraud are becoming more common. According to UK Finance, a trade body, there was an increase in the number of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud cases last year when compared to 2022.
So, below we’ve explained what APP fraud is, how it works, and how to get your money back if you’re a victim.
What is APP fraud?
APP fraud is when someone is conned into making a payment to a criminal posing as a genuine payee.
It’s different from other forms of fraud because the fraudster doesn’t access, or hack into your bank account. As the victim, you facilitate the transaction or hand over key information to the scammer which can be used as leverage.
Seven common types of APP fraud
1. Purchase scam
This is one of the most common forms of APP fraud.
Typically originating online, the fraudsters will create a fake advertisement for particular goods or services. This can be anything from a new piece of technology to a brand-new car. Victims then pay for these goods or services, believing they’ve secured a good deal, but never receive their items.
In 2023, there were almost 157,000 reported cases of purchase scams – making up over half of APP fraud for the year.
2. Investment scam
Under this method, the scammer will convince the victim to part with their cash to earn market-beating returns through their investment strategy.
These scams may entice their victims to invest in things like cryptocurrencies, forex, binary options, gold, property, carbon credits, land, banks and wine.
Investment scams can be highly lucrative for fraudsters too. In one case, CEL Solicitors helped a man claim back nearly £294,000 after he started investing with a company called 7XFX.
When he realised that he had been scammed, the man tried to flag it to his current account provider Revolut. It failed to retrieve his funds and, once he contacted CEL Solicitors, he managed to claim the bulk of his money.
3. Romance scam
The victim is first tricked into believing they’ve begun a romantic relationship with the scammer.
Then, once a sense of trust is established, the scammer persuades the victim to send across their money. This is often to help a fake cause, such as visa fees or an expensive hospital bill.
Many romance scams originate online – through dating apps – and social media. So, the scammers rarely meet their targets in person.
CEL Solicitors recently worked on a case where a widow recovered £250,000 from an oil rig romance scam. The 79-year-old woman, who was a retired university manager, met the scammer online and handed over a large sum of money to him when she thought he had been injured in an explosion on an oil rig.
Once she realised that she had been scammed, she contacted Action Fraud and the Police, but they failed to recover her funds. It was only after getting in touch with CEL Solicitors that her money was retrieved.
4. Advanced fee scam
Like a purchase scam, victims of an advanced fee scam are conned into believing that they’re receiving a high value item for a good price.
The difference is that the target is told to pay a small fee to release the good or service. Of course, the promised goods are never released, and the scammer walks away with the cash.
Of the advanced fee scams reported last year, the average victim lost just over £1,300.
5. Invoice scam
While this scam is more common among businesses, it could happen to you.
The fraudsters typically pretend to be legitimate businesses or traders before requesting payment for items or services that will never be delivered, or cost far more than they normally should.
To do this, they will create fake invoices.
So, to avoid falling victim to this scam, CEL Solicitors encourages people to always check the details of the invoice before submitting payment. Signs which should put you on alert include a sudden change of payment details or unusual payment requests – such as asking for cryptocurrency or gift vouchers.
6. CEO scam
This scam usually targets employees of an organisation. It requires the scammer to impersonate the CEO or other high-ranking official of the victim’s organisation to convince the victim to make an urgent payment to the scammer’s account.
While cases of these types of scams are few and far between, they tend to be typically high value. Only 411 instances of CEO fraud were raised last year, with the average amount stolen equating to over £28,000.
7. Impersonation scam
Impersonation scams aren’t just limited to fraudsters claiming to be CEOs. Sometimes scammers claim to be from trustworthy organisations such as the HMRC, Police, or your bank.
Depending on the scam the end goal could vary. Some convince their victim to pay a fictitious fine, pay overdue tax or return an erroneous refund.
In one case dealt by CEL Solicitors, a 71-year-old retiree from Bolton answered the phone to, what she believed was, Santander’s fraud team.
The fraudster told her to move her money from her Santander account to a “safe account” because her details had been compromised. At this point, the retiree began to question the authenticity of the call, but the scammer reassured her that he was legitimate by quoting her mother’s maiden name.
After sending the money to the scammer, she realised she was a victim of fraud – and Santander said they couldn’t stop the transaction.
After using CEL Solicitors, she managed to reclaim some of her funds, and Jessica Hampson, a fraud specialist and joint CEO at the law firm said it was an example of scammers can be convincing.
“In cases like this, it is crucial to remain vigilant and cautious when receiving unsolicited calls, even if the caller appears to have legitimate information. Always verify the identity of the caller independently, and never disclose sensitive information or transfer money without confirming the authenticity of the request,” she said.
How to claim your money back if you’ve been scammed
If you’ve previously been the victim of a scam, immediately flag it with your banking provider. Under consumer protection regulations, it has a duty to protect your money and it could reimburse your losses.
If your banking provider fails to help your case, then consider getting in touch with CEL Solicitors instead.
If the law firm believes more could have been done to detect and prevent the fraud it brings no win, no fee claims against the banks and payment providers including escalating your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). It’s a trusted brand with a strong reputation for winning money back for its clients.
The firm also offers a tracing service for claims involving cryptocurrency and can pursue fraudsters through the courts where the scammer can be identified.
Commenting on the recovery process, Paul Hampson added: “Recovering money lost to scammers can be complicated as this is an evolving area of law.
These types of scams are new to the police and courts but the law is slowly catching up with more legal protections being extended to consumers over time. We leave no stone unturned when reviewing every possible means of recovery.
This includes seeking reimbursement from banks and payment providers, including escalating complaints to the Financial Ombudsman, if we feel more could have been done to detect and prevent the fraud.
We can also investigate and trace digital assets in scams involving cryptocurrency. Finally, if the scammer can be identified, we can pursue them through the courts. Time is of the essence when it comes to recovery from the scammer so the sooner that we are instructed the better, as this gives us a better chance of recovery.”