Actor Simon Callow sits down for spooky story time to warn about fraud

And the ballot of two,000 adults revealed 37 % have despatched cash to somebody they’ve met on-line – with over half of these (52 %) too embarrassed to inform their pals about it.

The survey was commissioned by NatWest, who’re working with BAFTA nominated actor Simon Callow on the discharge of “The Scammer Home of Horrors” – a free, downloadable e-book that goals to warn the nation concerning the risks of fraud this Halloween.

Simon Callow stated: “It’s scary how superior scams have developed to be. I discover it more and more troublesome to remain savvy to the hazards.

“So it’s extra vital than ever that we as a nation proceed to teach ourselves on the brand new kinds of scams rising, in order to not be taken benefit of.

“As somebody who very practically fell sufferer to those refined scamming procedures, and is aware of somebody who misplaced their total life financial savings, I’m extraordinarily pleased to be serving to NatWest in its mission to teach the general public, and permit everybody to maintain their funds protected.”

The research additionally discovered only one in 5 adults (22 %) know what cash muling is – a sort of cash laundering the place somebody transfers money illegally on behalf of others.

And fewer than a 3rd (29 %) really feel they might have the ability to determine the indicators of bill redirection fraud, and extra trendy scams akin to cryptocurrency funding.

Over 1 / 4 (28 %) will not be doing every part they will to guard themselves in opposition to fraudsters, utilizing the identical password for all gadgets and private accounts.

As expertise advances and scams turn into trickier to identify, 60 % have been approached by a rip-off on social media – and three-quarters imagine social media giants ought to do extra to cease fraudulent exercise occurring on the platforms.

A 3rd (33 %) have additionally seen a celeb promoting an funding product that guarantees excessive returns – and 47 % of these appeared additional into it and made the funding, in line with the OnePoll information.

However one in 5 (21 %) felt extra assured in an funding alternative if it was fronted by a well-known individual.

Stuart Skinner, fraud and rip-off professional at NatWest, stated: “We live in a digital age, by which fraudsters have extra shops than ever to make the most of unsuspecting individuals.

“We’ve got created three horror tales primarily based on real-life scams, which include widespread phrases and actions used to govern victims.

“It’s terrifying that these tales are drawn from real-life instances, however we hope it helps others to be outfitted with the information to identify and cease these scams themselves.

“That’s why we’ve teamed up with Simon Callow, a goal of a possible rip-off, to assist individuals keep away from dropping any of their hard-earned cash sooner or later.”