How to protect yourself from fraud

• You receive a message from someone pretending to be a family member, potentially using the ruse that they have lost their phone or got a new phone number or that it's an emergency.
• You get a call, email or text that looks like it’s from a trusted company, urgently requesting you to make a payment for an overdue bill or flagging an issue with your taxes or your account.
• Someone impersonates Moneycorp or the police and tells you your money is at risk. They say you need to move it to a new account to keep it safe.
• You are contacted by someone claiming to be the police requesting for your support in an investigation by supplying personal financial documentation (or cash) as part of an ongoing investigation which will be collected by a courier.

• Be suspicious of unexpected requests for money. Remember that scammers use emails and texts to impersonate other people.
• Don’t click on links in unexpected messages, especially ones asking you to make a payment or give personal details.
• Don’t reveal your online passwords to anyone.
• Remember that law enforcement does not ask the public to help carry out investigations.
• Don’t believe anyone who requests you to move your money to a safe account.
• Never give remote access to your computer or device to someone who has called you unexpectedly.
• Be cautious if messaged by what appears to be a genuine company or a family member from an unknown number. If you can, contact that company/person back on a trusted number you have saved for them to verify the request.
• Moneycorp will never text you asking for you to transfer money or verify your account/activity by following a link. If you aren't sure a call is from us, you can ask to end the call and using a different phone, call us back on the trusted number on our website.

1. You receive instructions received via an email or any other social media or communication platform which contains one or more of the following characteristics: 

• Grammar / spelling errors, or tone of voice not in line with normal communications with supplier. 
• Email address the instruction has come from contains anomalies.  
• Contains suspicious-looking links – the destination of the link can be seen by either hovering over the link button (on a mobile phone device link can be seen by pressing and holding your finger down on the link). 
• The request you have received to change banking details quotes the reason for the change as: ‘Our account is under a Tax review’, ‘our account has been closed’ or our account has been blocked’. 

2. Someone you regularly deal with will appear to send an email with different banking information than usual.  

• You are conversing with someone on a trusted online platform, and they request to take the conversation off this platform.
• You continue to converse with the individual via text, email or instant messaging, but when you ask to meet in person, they make excuses.
• After a period of time building your trust, the individual starts bringing up issues they are having. For example, they are stuck somewhere, have some kind of emergency, or have a sick family member

• If you have never met someone in person or they refuse to talk anywhere other than via online, DO NOT:
  • Send them money
  • Allow them to have access to your Moneycorp account on your behalf.
  • Invest money on their behalf or accept funds into your account on their behalf.
• Be suspicious of someone who always make excuses to not meet in person.
• Always stop and take your time before reacting or carrying out any request that involves the sending or receiving of money or personal details. Be wary of anyone who says they need you to send money very quickly, do not let them rush you.
• Always speak with family or friends to obtain their advice or thoughts on the situation if you are unsure.

• You see an enticing online advert with a promising investment opportunity which will allow you to make a lot of money quickly.
• Unsolicited contact on social media offering you an investment opportunity (it can be from someone you know or not - someone might be impersonating them).
• Sense of urgency in making the investment.
• If it looks too good to be true, it normally is – remember that online adverts can be fake.

• Always do your research on the investment and the company, to see if it is likely to be a scam. You can normally look for local regulator’s websites, to make sure firms and individuals are duly authorised. If they are, you can usually contact them directly as per their registered details.
• Should you be contacted out of the blue with no initiation of contact on your part, be suspicious of the validity of this approach.
• Always seek independent advice before signing up to anything – speak to a trusted friend or family member or a qualified financial adviser.
• Should you feel like you are under pressure to invest immediately, make sure you step back from the situation and carry out all the checks you need to validate the offer prior to sending any money. For example, the scam message might say "Invest now as this offer is only available for you for the next hour".

• Lottery scam – A fraudster may approach you stating that you have won a lottery in another jurisdiction, but to be able to receive the funds you must send a fee. If you have never played the lottery in the stated jurisdiction, this is likely to be a scam.
• Inheritance scam – A fraudster may approach you stating that a family member that you have never heard of has passed away and left all or part of their estate to you. However, you have to pay a Tax or fee to release these funds.
• Rental Fraud scam – Agreement to rent a vehicle or property, that you are told you cannot see, or other product or service via an unverified channel. For example, the property is not a verified rental site or company. They ask you for a deposit to secure the rental and later you find out the property does not exist or isn’t available.
• Court or legal case scam – You are informed that there is a court case or legal case ongoing to aid in the financial repatriating of funds for you on overseas investments or shares for example, and to obtain the inflated payout (normally in the millions) you are to pay an upfront fee.
• Loan scam – Someone might offer to help you get a loan, but you need to pay an upfront fee for the “processing” with the bank which will give you the loan.

• Use reputable estate agents or rental sites, and don't sign a rental agreement if you can't visit the property or verify your rental.
• Be cautious of adverts on social media that request you to pay to enter, or anyone asking you to pay to access something you've won.
• Always be suspicious of requests to pay for goods or services you haven’t ordered or are unaware of, especially if you’ve had to pay fees upfront.
• Legitimate lenders never request upfront fee payment.
• If you’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be from a company, always phone back on a number you know to be correct.
• Remember – you can't win a lottery or competition that you haven’t entered.
• Always verify the legal representation and legitimacy of the case (within the jurisdiction the case is being stated as being held) should you be requested to make an upfront payment for a legal case win pay out.
• Question anything that seems too good to be true – it usually is.

• You receive communication that appears to be genuine – but it is a very good fake. 
• Fraudsters / scammers can change the phone numbers, email addresses and company names that are showing on your device, to make you believe you’re being contacted by a genuine company. This is called spoofing.  
• They go on to gain your trust, and dupe you into revealing personal and financial details to access your account and make payments.  
• They contact you pretending to be a company you trust, and say they’ll send a one-time passcode to confirm your identity. They are trying to access your account. When you share the code with them, they may use it to authorise online access or a payment. 
• Scammers trick you into paying for a product, service, or investment that doesn't exist, or make up an elaborate story to get you to send them money.  

• Be wary of any unexpected text messages, calls and emails you receive.  
• Never reveal personal information, your passwords or Online Banking passcodes. 
• Don't be deceived by a phone number or email address that initial looks genuine – they can be faked (spoofed).   
• Be extra cautious if you're asked to open a link or call a number. 
• Should you be requested to call the company, find a genuine number from a trusted source – this could be the company website. 
• Should you need to visit the company's website – always type in a web address you know is genuine by hand.