Feb 15, 2022
The tricks scammers use to steal your money
Criminals are deploying "Psychological tactics" to con people out of cash amid a rise in scams, Barclays bank says. Using dating apps as an example, Dr Brooks said scammers would connect with people they matched with, develop a relationship over time, and then exploit people's personality traits to get them to transfer them money. Barclays said the average amount a person loses through purchase scams totalled £980 research found scams targeting people investing led to the most money being lost. Figures showed a 17% rise in all reported scams in the last three months, while attempts at conning people increased by 70% in the final three months of 2021.Impersonation scams, Dr Brooks said, involved criminals exploiting a trait in more than to third of Brits surveyed who were more likely to comply with a request if they believed it to be from a well-known institution, such as a bank, the police or the NHS."In these situations, scammers will harness that sense of authority to instil fear in their victims," he said. Investment scams, Barclays said, saw a victim lose on average £15,788 the last three months of 2021.Dr Brooks said scammers were "Experts at exploiting the fact people want to grow their assets, and that we can sometimes put our better judgement aside for a high return opportunity".
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