UK's fraud hotspots for dating scams, computer repair cons and more

London, Norfolk, Surrey and Dyfed-Powys in Wales are danger zones, according to new research.

The hotspots for dating fraud, computer repair scams, investment cons and a whole host of other fraudulent activity have been revealed in new research from Which?.

The consumer watchdog analysed Action Fraud data – the main body to report cases of fraud in the UK – on scams reported during 2014, 2015 and 2016, broken down by police area and type.

Which? has used the information to reveal where certain types of fraud appear to be more common in England and Wales and is urging the Government to tackle the growing problem.

Norfolk

Norfolk residents were the most likely to report incidents of dating fraud, where victims are duped into sending money to bogus lovers.

This impacted 1.6 people for every 10,000 people in the country, compared with the national average of 1.1.

The county was also a prime location for reported lottery scams, where victims are tricked into paying to enter a fake lottery, with 2.2 people per 10,000 reporting compared with one nationally.

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Dyfed-Powys

Those living in Dyfed-Powys, Wales, commonly reported losing money to computer repair fraud, which involves a cold caller getting in touch to help fix a non-existent computer glitch.

Which? noted that this type of fraud tended to be reported in areas with an older population. In Dyfed-Powys 19.3 people per 10,000 were hit compared to the national average of 10.4.

The area was also a hotspot for fake services fraud, where victims are tricked into paying for a service that doesn’t exist or aren’t delivered. This impacted 13.4 people per 10,000 in contrast to the national average of 9.5.

London

London was also revealed to be a common are for scammers to target with a myriad of frauds, probably thanks to the large amounts of wealth and people concentrated in the area.

Which? found those living and working in the capital were most at risk of falling victim to a range of scams including: being charged fees for fake loans (4 per 10,000 people), social media or email hacking (3.7per 10,000), scam door-to-door sales (4.3 per 10,000), rental scams (3.4 per 10,000) fraud involving false or stolen goods (8.55 per 10,000), payment redirect fraud (3.9 per 10,000) and ticket fraud (4.7 per 10,000).

Other fraud hotspots

The data revealed that Dorset residents were particularly prone to being targeted by computer virus, malware and spyware fraud, with 3.8 cases per 10,000 people, compared to the national average of 2.3.

Households in affluent Surrey most commonly reported financial investment fraud, with 2.1 people per 10,000 compared to 1.3 nationally.

While those living in Warwickshire typically reported the most cases of retail fraud with 15.67 reports per 10,000 people in contrast to the 3.4 national average.

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The scale of the fraud problem

In total Which? Found there were 266,964 frauds reported between 2014 and 2016. Below are the types, what they involve and the scale of the problem.

Type of fraud	What it involves	Number of reported cases to Action Fraud (2014-2016)
Online shopping and auction fraud	A product advertised online doesn’t exist, arrive, or match its original description. It also includes where sellers aren’t paid for goods sold online.	123,298
Computer fixing fraud	Someone is told that there’s a problem with their computer which can be fixed for a fee. No fix actually happens.	80,264
Fees for fake services	Victims pay an upfront fee for a service that doesn’t exist. For example, cold callers falsely offer to make PPI claim for money, or employers demanding money for employment checks for jobs that don’t exist.	66,035
Cheque, plastic card and online bank account fraud	Someone’s cheque, card or online bank account is fraudulently used. It doesn’t include companies that deal with electronic money transfers.	54,696
Fake or stolen products fraud	Victims make a purchase after being shown, or test a product. However, that product is later found to be false or stolen – also known as ‘Other consumer non-investment fraud’.	41,108
Retail fraud	Fraud committed against retailers, such as when goods are ordered with no intention of paying, or when a fraudster tries to get a refund from stolen goods.	30,944
Fake loan fraud	A victim is offered a ‘loan’ in exchange for a fee. The loan never materialises.	19,531
Payment redirect fraud	Fraudsters get a victim to change a direct debit, standing order or bank transfer by pretending to be an organisation that the victim regularly pays. This could be a phone or energy company, for example.	16,467
Hacking cases – social media and email	Someone’s social media or email account is hacked. This is unlikely to result in money loss directly.	16,249
Door-to-door sales and bogus tradesmen	Fraudsters go door-to-door offering goods or services that are never delivered, or are of poor quality.	15,907
Computer virus/malware/spyware	Scammers trick you into spreading a virus or allowing malware to be installed on a device. A virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. Malware/spyware collect information or data from infected devices and passes them on to another device.	15,561
Fake ticket fraud	A victim purchases a ticket in advance only to find that it’s never received, or isn’t valid for the event.	14,949
Other financial investment fraud	This covers a range of scams designed to convince people to part with their savings.	9,521
Dating scams	The victim is persuaded to send money to a prospective ‘lover’.	8,311
Lottery scams	The victim pays to enter a non-existent ‘lottery’.	6,933

Source: Which?

What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The research found that Scotland and Northern Ireland had much lower reports of fraud compared to the rest of the UK over this three-year period.

Which? says this is likely because the Scottish police aren’t officially part of Action Fraud reporting network while Northern Ireland joined in June 2015.

Getting tough on fraud

Which? is urging the Government to set out plans to tackle fraud and scams.

It suggests improving how businesses handle customer data, the response to a data breach and to ensure people get the right redress.

The watchdog is also calling for the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to implement stronger rules to protect consumers from bank transfer scams.

Gareth Shaw, Which? money expert, said:“As more information is available about us online than ever before, fraudsters are finding it much easier to know who to target and how.

“These criminals are constantly finding new ways to rip us off and those tackling fraud should be upping their game. The Government needs to set out an ambitious agenda to tackle fraud, while law enforcement agencies need to be working harder to identify and protect the people most at risk from fraud.”

If you think you may have fallen victim to a scam you should report it to Action Fraud.

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