As is commonplace with scams, it starts with links shared on social media that will promise an amazing deal.
At this time of year, fraudsters are offering ways to help reduce energy bills through Government living allowances and initiatives like the Warm Home Discount.
The links could also be a fake notification about an undelivered parcel claiming to be from a genuine delivery company. In 2023, 40 million UK households were targeted with this type of scam, making it the most common recorded.
However, since then, the scammers have introduced a second layer to con recipients with a sophisticated OTP message.
It follows the same pattern as other push payment scams, where your credit or debit card details are requested. But an OTP is then sent by SMS from the criminals and appears as though it is from your banking provider.
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Scammers then either ask by SMS or even by phone call what the OTP is. If the OTP is shared with the fraudsters – part of organised crime groups from around the world – they can then create a digital wallet to make payments using the account details.
This scam is possible on all androids and iPhones with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay as payment options.
As well as OTP scams, drivers have been warned against a growing number of road tax scams ahead of changes to the system in April.
Leading fraud prevention services Cifas, Cyber Defence Alliance and UK Finance have joined forces to raise awareness of the scam.
Scammers changing tactics ‘at speed’
Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, said: “Scammers are using new technology to change their tactics at speed and find new ways to abuse consumers’ trust and steal from their bank accounts. We urge people to stop and think twice about any communications received unexpectedly and never act on urgency.”
Dianne Doodnath, principal of economic crime at UK Finance, added: “Criminals are sophisticated and will make every attempt to steal personal and financial information. We encourage customers to be alert to potential threats of fraud, be cautious of sharing personal and financial information and avoid sharing OTPs with requests out of the blue.”
You can report suspicious text messages to the police by forwarding them to 7726.
How to prevent OTP scams
Here are five tips from Cifas on how to protect yourself from fraudulent OTP attempts:
- Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information. It could keep you safe.
- Ask yourself: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited SMS or emails, even if it appears to be from a company you know.
- Get a second opinion from someone you trust about what you’ve received.
- Be cautious of any ‘too good to be true’ offers.
