Dubbed “Five-Week Fraud” this time frame—from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day—sees a surge in transactions, heightened party activity, and an increase in criminal activity. Alina Timofeeva, a Technology and AI advisor with experience advising clients such as NatWest, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, and Credit Suisse, has issued a stark warning to the public about leading fraudulent scams expected during the heightened shopping and festive period.
Timofeeva, a multi-award-winning expert with a background at KPMG, Accenture, and PwC, urges the public to remain vigilant and elevate their alert levels during this high-risk period.
Ms Timofeeva, director, Unique.Bold.You says: “Crime increases during the Five-Week-Fraud timeframe as more transactions happen between Black Friday and New Year’s Day sales. The main exploitation is not of technologies, but of the humane side of the victims. The human condition is gullible to believe words and digital visuals. For people to be protected, the media informing the public of risks is paramount.”
Alina’s Top 6 scams to watch out for during Five-Week-Fraud include:
1) Don’t keep your debit and credit cards together with your mobile phone
If you leave your cards with your phone, someone may steal both and be able to transfer money to their own bank account. Phones are inaccessible when password protected, or with face or fingerprint recognition activated. Bank cards can be stopped. But the thief has a method which circumnavigates those basic safety protocols.
Once the thief has the phone and the card, they register the card on the relevant bank’s app on their own phone or computer. Since it is the first time that card will have been used on the new device, a one-off security passcode is demanded.
That verification passcode is sent by the bank to the stolen phone. The code flashes up on the locked screen of the stolen phone, leaving the thief to tap it into their own device. Alternatively, the thief takes the sim card from the victim’s mobile and moves it to their phone to receive the verification passcode. Once accepted, they have control of the bank account. They can transfer money or buy goods or change access to the account.
Ms Timofeeva has been a victim of this crime in August 2022 where she had £10,000 stolen.
2) First party fraud
On the 7th of October 2024, new regulation called Payment Service Providers (PSPs) came into force, whereby consumers are now more protected. The new regulation requires Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to reimburse customers who are victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where consumers can get a refund within five working days on any claims, up to £85,000 and after that the bank then investigates the claim.
While these new measures are now in force, consumers should still make payments with care. The enforcers want the public to understand some of the instances where a claim for reimbursement under the new APP scams, reimbursement requirements may not happen.
This includes where consumers are found to have been complicit in the fraud themselves or grossly negligent. Gross negligence is set at a high bar and this exception does not apply to vulnerable consumers.
Some in the technology and banking sector wonder if this will encourage more people to commit crime themselves, by claiming on a fraud when they know that transaction was not fraudulent but made by themselves. The risk is large as a few extra pounds might result in a criminal record.
3) Meta glasses scam
Meta glass wearers with a camera embedded in them, can look at a person and take a photo. There are concerns that Meta glasses could record video of someone without their knowledge, but of course people can do that on their phones too and it is legal to do so on public property.
However, the part to be cautious of, is when the wearer uses the photo to identify the person’s relevant information online. The perpetrator could approach the person and speak to them as if they know of them stating the information they just researched, to build the trust with the victim.
4) WhatsApp scam
Criminals can easily get into a person’s WhatsApp group, and gain access to their contacts, then they impersonate that person and the ask for money. Criminals would take over a person’s phone, and then that person receives a text message, impersonating the contact asking for a code. Never share the 6-digit number.
When people are busy and distracted, they could get sucked in to sending the code, since the criminals create a sense of urgency. As soon as a person shares the code, they’re able to take over on WhatsApp. Ms Timofeeva recommends people to set up Two Factor Authentication which adds one more layer of protection.
5) Invoice and mandate scam
This scam starts with the victim is trying to pay an invoice to who they think is a genuine payee. The criminal intervenes via the internet and convinces the victim to redirect the payment to an account they control. Criminals can pose as conveyancing solicitors, builders, tradespeople or other professionals including the businesses who’s being defrauded. They also target businesses by posing as their supplier. In both cases, they claim the bank account details have changed. With this type of fraud, the criminal often either intercepts emails or compromises an email account. Always call up the business you’re trying to pay first, to ask them to repeat their bank details to ensure it matches up to the invoice received.
6) Impersonation scams
Purchase Scams are popular. This is when you buy goods or services that are never received. These scams usually involve the victim using an online platform such as a fake auction website, a fake shopping site or on social media.
Or a criminal gets in touch and pretends to be someone including from the police or the victim’s bank, a romantic interest or a family member. They convince their victim to make a payment to an account they control. These requests generally come from social media, text messages or other instant messaging platforms.
Other criminals may claim to represent a utility company or government department. Common scams include bogus claims that the victim must settle a fine, pay overdue tax or return a refund. Sometimes the criminal asks for remote access to the victim’s computer as part of the scam, claiming they need to help ‘fix’ a problem.
Then there is the Investment Scam where a criminal convinces you to move your money to a fund that doesn’t exist or to pay for a fake investment. The criminal will usually promise a high return. These scams include investment in items such as gold, property, carbon credits, cryptocurrencies, land, banks and fine wine.
Finally, there is the Advance Fee scam where a criminal convinces someone to pay a fee that they claim will result in the release of a much larger payment or high value goods. These scams include claims that a person has won a lottery overseas, that gold or jewellery is being held at customs or that an inheritance is due. The fraudster tells the person a fee must be paid first. When the payment is made, the promised goods or money never materialise. These scams often begin with an email or a letter sent by the criminal to the victim.
