Scams

The financial watchdog has released a Christmas jingle as part of an anti-fraud campaign, launched today (9 December), to try and better inform and protect consumers from financial fraud related to taking out loans, which it says are particularly rife over the Christmas period. 

The police have issued a warning for consumers to watch out for fake emails claiming to be from MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis and said that more than 300 people had reported receiving the scam email in the space of just one week.

Fourteen trusted household names, public figures and celebrities – Martin Lewis, Sir Richard Branson, Deborah Meaden, Duncan Bannatyne, Rob Brydon, Dawn French, Bear Grylls, Peter Jones, Lorraine Kelly, Davina McCall, Phillip Schofield, Bradley Walsh, Robbie Williams and Holly Willoughby – have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for paid-for scam advertising to be urgently included in the upcoming Online Safety Bill.

New rules to help protect pension savers from scammers have today become law. Under the regulations, pension trustees and scheme managers will be given the power to stop suspicious transfers before cash gets into the hands of fraudsters.

"Legal advice" is the "only reason" the Government hasn't included protection against paid-for scam adverts in its upcoming Online Safety Bill, according to new comments made by secretary of state for digital Nadine Dorries. 

If you need to call your bank, just dial 159. That's the message MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis gave in the second episode of his new series of The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV.

Consumers wanting to avoid financial fraud now have a secure and easy-to-remember phone number to contact their banks on in order to avoid painful scams. It could prove to be the safest way for many to contact their provider if they have suspicions and concerns about their accounts, or even if they're struggling to find a customer services number. 

Certain financial services providers will have to verify that they are authorised by the FCA before advertising on Google from 6 September, in an effort to tackle online fraud. But the new policy doesn't apply to ads for cryptocurrency or debt services, which are already subject to other policies, and there are some other exclusions. 

A new Online Safety Bill has been announced by the Government in the Queen’s speech today for the opening of Parliament. It promises to ‘lead the way in ensuring internet safety for all’ – but according to MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis, it has stumbled at the first hurdle as it does not plan to protect people from scam and fraudulent ads.

MoneySavingExpert.com and the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, which were both founded by Martin Lewis, are among 17 organisations today calling for the Government to use its new Online Safety Bill to help protect people from an avalanche of online scams.