Real Hustle star shows how easy it is for scammers to con you into handing over personal details
And despite being more tech savvy, it's the younger generation that is more likely to be conned
PAUL Wilson, presenter of BBC One's The Real Hustle, has demonstrated how easy it is for a scammer to extract personal information from strangers in an alarming video which aims to raise awareness of scams.
The experiment - which saw Wilson ask shoppers to provide personal and financial information for the chance to win a free TV - showed that 85 per cent of the people he “scammed” gave away their bank details.
The test was conducted on behalf of Santander, which today published stats on how many Brits have been the victim of a bank scam at some point during their lifetime.
The bank's research found that one in four have been the victim of a scam, with the nation's lax attitude towards personal security a potential reason for this.
The bank polled more than 2,000 UK adults and found that 12 per cent would reply to an email from somebody they didn’t know, while four per cent would give out personal, security or banking details to a stranger.
These stats are concerning, given that the latest online crime figures show that almost £11 billion was lost from the UK economy over the past year as a result of fraud.
Top tips to protect yourself from scams
1. Never give out personal, account or security details (including OTP codes). Your bank, the police or any other organisation will never ask you for these in full.
2. Never allow someone remote access to your computer following a cold call.
3. Don’t rely on caller ID – numbers can be spoofed by fraudsters to make it look like they’re calling from a trusted number.
4. Your bank, the police or any other company, will never call to ask you to transfer your money out of your account for security reasons.
5. Be wary of all cold calls purporting to be from banks, police, or other trusted organisations – if you have any concerns, call back on an independently verified number.
The survey findings also reveal that over nine per cent of British adults believe their bank would ask for their full PIN, password or other private security details. Banks would never ask for these details in full.
Seven per cent also believe their bank would ask them to transfer money out of their account for security reasons.
Surprisingly, it is the younger generation (18-34 year olds) that are more susceptible to being scammed, with 20 per cent of those polled believing that their bank would ask for their full PIN – double the figure for the nation as a whole.
Karen Tyler, Head of Fraud at Santander, said: “Scams can come in many forms and our research highlights how widespread they are. It’s worrying that so many people are unaware of what information a bank will and will not ask for – for example, a bank would never ask you to disclose your full security details.
“Falling victim to a scam can be devastating and it’s therefore so important that people make sure they’re aware of the different types of scams and keep their personal information safe."
Paul Wilson added: “Every year thousands of people are targeted by scams, and the number is increasing. Fraudsters operate by gathering pieces of information one bit at a time.
"By understanding how scammers operate and being vigilant, we can protect ourselves from becoming victims. And remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”
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