Types of Fraud

Romance fraud is a type of crime where a person uses a fake profile to build a friendship or relationship with you for fraudulent, financial gain.

They will spend significant amounts of time talking and engaging with you to gain your trust and create a relationship with you before they ask for money. To help keep yourself safe, you can do the following:

• If using an online dating service, stay on their messenger service to talk until you are confident the person is who they say they are.
• Never send money to someone who you haven't met in person
• Avoid giving away personal details

If you are concerned that a person you are speaking to may not be who they say they are, you can do a reverse image search to find out if the photo they have been using has been taken from someone else. Upload the photo they are using to google image search.

If you think you have been a victim of romance fraud, or you have suspicions of it, you can report it online to Operation Signature at Sussex Police or you can call 101. 

You can also report suspicions of online profiles linked to romance fraud anonymously to Scamalytics. Using an online form you can enter images, names and details of potential romance fraudsters. This not only keeps yourself and your loved ones safe, but could prevent others from falling victim too. 

If you or someone you know has been a victim of romance fraud, you can find further advice and support by contacting the services listed on this site.

There are additional resources with guidance and advice for romance fraud under the resources tab. 

'Sextortion' is a form of blackmail; often threatening to publish sexual photos or videos about someone. This may be to extort money or to force the victim to do something against their will. You can find more detail about sextortion under the sexual abuse page. 

Additional resources can be found here. 

Financial abuse is the mistreatment of someone in terms of their money or assets, such as their property. It can be a form of domestic abuse if the perpetrator is a partner or family member. 

Financial abuse can include:

• money being stolen or misused
• fraud
• exploiting someone's financial affairs
• pressuring and coercing someone about their will, lasting power of attorney, property or inheritance.

How to keep yourself safe from financial abuse:

• Check receipts and what money has been spent
• Only let people you trust have access to your accounts and money
• Do not send money or information to people before checking who they are
• Keep important documents and valuables safe and out of sight
• Choose secure passwords and pins for banking that only you know

If you have concerns, please do talk to someone you know and trust. Alternatively there are services on this site that can advise you. 

Some resources have been pulled together that can provide you with more information and advice. 

If you are a professional supporting a victim of financial abuse, Surviving Economic Abuse has a range of tools for support all free to access on their website. 

It is estimated that at least 84% of fraud reported nationally is cyber-enabled. By using ICT, it allows criminals to target a much bigger audience.

If you have been a victim of cyber/digital fraud, you can access free expert help through the Cyber Helpline.

You can find some resources around how to keep safe from cyber fraud under the resources tab. 

Online hacking:

Online hacking is when criminals identify and exploit weaknesses in a computer system or network to gain, change or destroy personal information. 

Online shopping:

Shopping online can save time and effort and gives you a wide choice of goods from around the world. Unfortunately, whilst most buyers and sellers are genuine, fraudsters use online shopping scams because they can hide their identity and target many victims at the same time. 

Fraudsters can also target online sites such as Facebook marketplace, eBay, Gumtree and Vinted, getting you to send a product to them under false pretences that the money has already been sent.

Be aware of:

• There should be a padlock symbol in the browser window where you have put the site address.
• Spoof websites are fake sites made to look like real ones to steal personal or banking details. Look for 'https://' in the website address to ensure it is a secure site. The 's' stands for secure.
• Anyone encouraging you to transfer money quickly.
• When selling goods, make sure you receive payment confirmation before sending or handing over any goods. Check the funds are cleared in your account, either using online banking or by contacting your bank.

Banking and card fraud:

Fraudsters fit devices to cash machines that can trap bank cards, copy the card details and record the PIN. 

• Shield your PIN by standing close to the cash machine and covering the keypad with your hand, purse or wallet. 
• If there is anything that looks unusual about a cash machine, or there are signs of tampering, do not use it and report it to the bank. 
• If your card is retained by a cash machine, report it immediately to your card issuer whilst still at or near the machine. 

Bank transfer:

Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are when someone is convinced to transfer money from their bank account to a scammer. For example, by posing as their bank and asking you to transfer money out to a 'safe account'.

If you have been a victim of a APP scam, contact your bank as soon as it's happened and ask if you can get a refund. 

You can find more information and guidance under the resources tab and 'banking'. 

Take Five is a national campaign offering straight forward, impartial advice to help prevent email, phone based and online fraud. They have guidance on how to protect yourself from fraud such as this.

You can find more resources around banking fraud and keeping yourself safe under the resources tab. 

Nearly a third of all fraud is committed over the telephone. 

Criminals can use the telephone to impersonate your bank, police, tax office, investment or other trusted organisations to try convince you to part with your money. 

If you receive a 'cold call', hang up and then check to see if it was genuine from a trusted source. 

Phone numbers can be disguised to make it look like someone else is calling, this is called Caller ID spoofing.  

When using your mobile phone, ensure that the WiFi network is safe, and your applications are up to date and have strong passwords.

More resources with further advice and guidance can be found under the resources tab. 

There are many different types of investment fraud. They usually involve criminals contacting people out of the blue and convincing them to invest in schemes or products that are worthless or do not exist. Once payment has been received, they cease contact with the victim. 

How to keep yourself safe from investment fraud:

• Don't be rushed into making an investment. Legitimate organisations will never pressure you into investing on the spot.
• Seek advice first. Before making a significant financial decision, speak to trusted friends or family members and/or seek professional independent advice. 
• Check the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) register to check if the company is regulated by the FCA. If a firm or individual isn't regulated by the FCA you may not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service if things go wrong.
• The FCA has information about how to invest safely. Visit ScamSmart.

If you've been a victim of investment fraud:

• Contact the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 or report suspicious businesses or individuals using the reporting form on their website. 
• Keep an eye on your credit rating if you suspect your identity may have been stolen. Use a reputable service provider and follow up on any unexpected or suspicious results. 
• Seek legal advice or contact Citizens Advice to understand your options. In many cases there is a close correlation between what may be considered fraud and the civil tort (law) of deceit and/or breach of contract. For the deceit or breach of contract there are civil litigation options. 
• Be aware of any follow up scams. Fraudsters sometimes re-establish contact with previous victims with a new scam, claiming they can help recover lost money. 

You can find additional information under the resources tab. 

Courier fraud is when the fraudster pretends to be a police officer or someone from your bank, normally advising that a crime has been committed and the victims bank account is linked in some way. The fraudster will ask the victim to withdraw money, purchase an item or withdraw foreign currency to help with the investigation.

It is important to note that no bank or police will ask you to verify personal details or PIN numbers over the phone, or pick up your bank account cards by courier.

Action Fraud have more detail around how to protect yourself from courier fraud and how to spot the signs. 

More information can also be found under our resources tab.

Doorstep fraud is when someone tries to scam you after knocking at your door, pretending to be a tradesmen, sales person or charity collector.

They may sell you goods or services, ask for payment up front and then never provide them, or they may be of very poor quality if they do. They may also demand payment for work that was never agreed to, or pressure you into agreeing to work. 

You can find more detail about doorstep fraud on the Action Fraud site and the West Sussex County Council site. 

There is additional information under the resources tab. 

Identity fraud is when someone uses your personal details (such as name, date of birth, addresses) in criminal activity to obtain goods/services by deception. This can include opening new bank accounts, taking out a loan or credit card in your name and ordering goods.

The Home Office has created a checklist to help victims who have experienced identity theft take steps to repair their identity and prevent revictimisation. 

There are several leaflets that have been produced with more information around identity fraud and how to protect yourself, that you can read under our resources tab here. 

Businesses can also be at risk of fraud, especially online. You can help minimise the risk of this by:

• Implementing robust financial controls
• Storing financial documents securely, shredding them when no longer needed
• Checking bank statements carefully, and reporting anything you do not recognise or find suspicious
• Ensuring your computer software is secure and updated
• Using effective passwords to protect your data

The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East supports and helps protect small and medium sized enterprises, supply chain businesses and third sector organisations against cyber crime.

They can help provide security awareness training, vulnerability assessments and other guidance around protecting yourself.  

Social engineering scams are where criminals try to scam you using impersonation, winning your trust and tricking you into disclosing confidential information or giving them money. 

The scammers will use lies and social skills to scare or excite you into handing over information or money. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now being used to create images, videos and sounds of false identifies to fool scam victims.

Social engineering scams can be very specific to you, such as through a fake social media account where they add you as a friend, or to a wide range of people, such as posting an advertisement on popular social media sites which directs you to give credit card information in exchange for investment products.

• Do not disclose personal information such as account passwords or credit card security codes unless you are not certain of the person you are speaking to. Banks will never ask you to disclose this information. Never contact your bank using the contact information within a suspicious email. 
• Enable two factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts. You can read more about how to do this under our resources tab. 

Phishing:

A social engineering tactic is called phishing which uses fraudulent emails to lure people into sending money or confidential information. Phishing emails normally read threatening or push for immediate action because of a financial emergency, such as detection of 'unusual activity' on an account. Scammers aim to scare people into responding quickly. Alternatively the email could push you to clicking on a link which results in a computer virus or dangerous software being installed. 

If you believe you have clicked a phishing link, disconnect your computer/device from the internet straight away and then scan your system using a trusted security software.

If you have typed in/provided usernames and passwords on what may be a fake website, change them immediately on the legitimate site. 

If you have disclosed information which means someone else may have access to your bank accounts, contact your bank immediately. 

The National Cyber Security Centre website has a wealth of information around Phishing.