• We have been alerted to a series of fixed rate investment scams that have taken place recently. Criminal organisations have impersonated a number of firms proposing financial products, such as investment bonds offering an attractive, but not suspiciously high, return of around 3-5% per annum. As many are fixed income bonds paying quarterly dividends, the victim is often not alerted to the scam until the first payment fails to materialise.
• Use of fraudulent, and possibly some genuine, ‘impartial’ price comparison websites to generate interest from members of the public. Some of these opportunities can be found via sponsored links on Google or Facebook.
• Use of email addresses which resemble those of staff at legitimate firms and in some cases have used the names of genuine members of staff.
• Exploiting short-term financial concerns, scammers may ask you to hand over an upfront fee – usually between £25 and £450 – when applying for a loan or credit that you never get. This is known as loan fee fraud or advance fee fraud.
• ‘Good cause’ scams. This is where investment is sought for good causes such as the production of sanitiser, manufacture of personal protection equipment (PPE) or new drugs to treat coronavirus – with scammers using the promise of high returns to entice consumers.
• Using the uncertainty around stockmarkets, scammers may advise you to invest or transfer existing investments into non-standard investments.
• Scammers may contact you claiming to be from a Claims Management Company (CMC), insurance company or your credit card provider. They may say they can help you recuperate losses by submitting a claim, for the cost of a holiday or event such as a wedding cancelled due to coronavirus. They will ask you to send them some money or your bank details.
• Cold calls, emails, texts or WhatsApp messages stating that your bank is in trouble due to the coronavirus crisis, and pushing you to transfer your money to a new bank with alternative banking details.

Read more about Covid-19 scams