5 things I would never do as a scams expert
Nobody is immune to being scammed, no matter how intelligent, educated or financially literate they are.
In eight years of investigating fraud, I've helped victims from all walks of life. And although I've not yet been scammed, I don't consider myself immune either.
It could happen to me one day, as scammers' methods constantly evolve to find new and nefarious ways to con their victims.
However, I've managed to avoid being scammed by adopting some red lines – things I will just never do if asked – not without checking first.
Read on to find out what my five things are to avoid being scammed.
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1. I wouldn't buy from Facebook Marketplace without first inspecting the item in person.
In a cost of living crisis, buying second-hand furniture, clothes and children's toys can be a more affordable and sustainable option than buying new.
Facebook Marketplace hosts listings for huge numbers of items, and normally the seller is local to you.
The most common way to do business is to pick up from the seller's home and pay in cash on the doorstep. Doing it this way reduces the likelihood of being scammed.
But I've seen things go badly wrong when online payment is requested before pickup, or in order to dispatch an item via post.
- Read more: how to safely buy second-hand online
2. I would never pay a stranger using bank transfer or PayPal's Friends and Family payments.
While a PayPal Friends and Family payment may save you a few pounds in fees, it means you have no recourse to PayPal's Buyer Protection scheme if the seller doesn't provide the goods.
The same goes for bank transfers, which also lack protection. While there are some protections in place for scam victims who lose money through a bank transfer, getting your money back can be tricky.
Scam victims who lose money this way often send funds, only for the recipient to break off all contact and block them.
So be like me – payment by cash once you've inspected an item or via PayPal's Goods and Services option, or you can use a credit card for additional protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
- Read more: how to get your money back after a scam
3. I wouldn't buy an unregulated investment.
The world is awash with exotic investment options – Scotch whisky casks, fine art, soybean futures and tropical island developments, to name a few. And of course, there's crypto.
To the novice investor, the above might seem more exciting than the traditional options of buying stocks, shares and physical gold – particularly if the slick website or handout is promising you huge, inflation-beating returns.
But these types of investments are unregulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning you have no recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you're mis-sold.
And while some of these schemes are genuine (albeit very high risk), many are outright scams. That's why I give them a wide berth and why I recommend any inexperienced investor to do the same.
No investment is completely without risk. However, it's far safer to take advice from a registered, authorised financial advisor and buy investments from a regulated firm, while physical gold should be bought from specialist bullion dealers with a well-established reputation, such as the Royal Mint.
- Find out: how to invest safely as a beginner
4. I wouldn't trust a call from the 'Fraud Department'.
If your bank detects a suspicious transaction on your account, it will freeze that transaction – and often the whole account – while it investigates the situation with you.
Typically you'll receive a text message asking you to call the bank yourself. As long as you use the trusted phone number from your bank card or statement, this is safe.
What isn't safe is answering a call from a human who claims to be from your bank's fraud team and then grills you for personal information or a one-time passcode.
These calls come from scammers and I wouldn't hand over any details.
Instead, I would hang up and spend a few minutes taking deep breaths to relieve any panic or stress. I would then use a different phone to call my bank using a trusted number to report what had happened.
- Read more: 'I lost £5k after a bank impersonation scam'
5. I wouldn't assume a loved one's cash request is genuine.
The now infamous 'Hi mum/dad' scam typically involves a WhatsApp message claiming to be from the new number of your adult son or daughter. 'They' quickly go on to request cash from you.
This version of the con is easy to spot if you don't have an adult child. But if the message comes from, say, the genuine email address or Facebook profile of a friend, relative or even a colleague, would you spot it so readily?
Your first instinct may be to help immediately and without question. But it's commonplace for social media and email accounts to be hacked by criminals who then bombard the victim's contacts with messages containing sob stories and pleas for financial help.
The request may be for a bank transfer (to an account under a different name than your genuine loved one) or it may be for payment in gift cards.
That's why I would never send money or voucher codes on the strength of one of these messages. I would always speak to the person to check the contents of the message, either face to face or by calling them on a trusted phone number that I've used before.
Not only could this save you from being scammed, it could also alert the person that they've been hacked, so they can take steps to recover the account.
