Scam Secrets

Being scammed once can be a devastating, life-changing experience. But the criminals we hear about on Scam Secrets don't care about that. They'll often come back for more, with bogus offers to help you get your money back. It's known as recovery fraud, and its impact can be worse than the original crime. Often the criminals will be the same ones that stole your money in the first place.

More than £200 million was stolen like this last year, according to Report Fraud. Sometimes it'll be an official looking letter, perhaps pretending to be a genuine company, offering assistance. Sometimes it'll be a phonecall out of the blue, asking you to pay 'tax' on your refund before it's released. That's what happened to Jane, who tells Scam Secrets how criminals bombarded her with calls, and preyed on her desperate desire to recover from a crypto investment scam.

Joining Shari, Lis and Alex is Beth Harris, head of financial crime at the Financial Conduct Authority, who highlights a crucial red flag - nobody legimitate will ask you to pay up front to get your money back.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Being sent a shiny new phone when you weren't expecting one sounds great - but it most likely isn't. In this episode, the Scam Secrets team investigate mobile handset fraud - a widespread scam whereby criminals gain access to your telecoms account, then order new phones or tablets once inside. Shari Vahl, Elisabeth Carter and Alex Wood hear from two listeners who thought they were dealing with their mobile provider, only to find out they'd become the latest victims of this manipulative scam. There's also a glimpse into the criminals' techniques thanks to the recording of one of them in action.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

What's the name of your first pet? If a question like that holds the key to your email inbox, it might be time to beef up your security. In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood talk about why our emails are so valuable to scammers, and hear some of the terrible things criminals will do if they can get inside. From booking a holiday to intercepting the proceeds of a house sale, they've got plenty of options. The team is also joined by Ollie Whitehouse, chief technology officer for the National Cyber Security Centre, to talk about the latest ways to keep your inbox secure. Ollie explains why the NCSC thinks it's time to move on from passwords, and explains the technology of passkeys, which he believes are now the safest option.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

Your relative is in the grip of a scam. You can see it - but they can't. Would you know what to do?

It's a situation you never want to find yourself in. And if you do, it can be hard knowing where to turn and how to help.

This episode is inspired by the emails we've received from people whose friends and relatives are being scammed.

With the help of two experts who deal with this question every day - one from a bank, the other from the police - Shari, Lis and Alex set out to offer listeners a 'toolkit' of things to do in this horrible scenario.

They cover how to contact a victim's bank, tips on breaking the spell that the criminals have laid, and what the police will try to do to help.

Let us know your experience, and what else you want Scam Secrets to cover - [email protected].

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

Do you scan QR codes? Since Covid, they've become embedded in many aspects of our lives. But perhaps we're a bit too trusting of them.

On this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear how criminals are finding different ways to exploit those little black and white squares.

Two Scam Secrets listeners give their experience - Les, who scanned a QR code while trying to pay for parking on a trip to the coast - and Keith, who used a QR scanner app he'd downloaded to try to buy a classic car book.

Both of them ended up with criminals taking money from their bank accounts in monthly chunks.

Professor Filipo Sharevski of DePaul University has studied the malicious use of QR codes. He tells Scam Secrets how they're increasingly used in emails to disguise phishing links - a technique known as quishing.

Prof Sharevski also describes his experiments testing the public's willingness to scan QR codes when they're out and about. You might think twice next time you encounter one.

Remember you can get in touch with the programme and tell us about the scame you want us to investigate - [email protected]

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

What really happens when you report a scam?

In this special episode, Shari takes a trip behind the scenes at the fraud reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For years, this was called Action Fraud - and victims often complained about the way they were dealt with when they tried to report what had happened to them.

Since the start of the year, there's been a new system in place. It's called Report Fraud, and the people in charge say it's a totally different operation.

So we went to check it out. With total losses from fraud estimated at well over a billion pounds last year, and scammers constantly evolving their techniques using the latest technology, there's never a quiet day.

Shari meets call handlers and victim support officers who are on the front line speaking to vulnerable victims, police officers trying to shut down scam sites - and puts listener questions to the overall boss of Report Fraud.

For this episode, she's joined by Professor Mark Button from Portsmouth University, a fraud specialist who has researched the experience of fraud victims in the UK.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Have you ever been desperately trying to contact a company to complain about shoddy service? Or needed to cut through the automated responses and speak to a human who can help? Most of us have - and the criminals have latched onto it.

Scam Secrets takes a journey into the world of customer service scams. Criminals pose on social media as respected brands, going out of their way to help. They'll even offer a refund - but the money only goes in one direction. Shari, Lis and Alex grab their red flags and hear from a listener whose attempts to complain about a parcel delivery led her right into the grip of criminals. They hear about the vast scale of this type of scam - researchers found 350,000 fake accounts impersonating 2,600 brands - and discuss the best ways to avoid getting scammed while you're trying to complain.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Scam Secrets is back with a close look at deepfakes. Lots of the stories we hear involve victims being lured into scams by fake videos or photos of trusted people. Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear what happened when a listener confronted the man stealing from her mother during a live video call where he was pretending to be her lover. YouTube scam-baiter Jim Browning joins the programme to talk about the techniques he uses to unmask criminals hiding behind deepfakes - and give a scary glimpse into the future.

Remember you can email the show at [email protected]

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

An old friend is posting about how well his investments are doing - and he's offering you the chance to get involved too. Would you know what to do?

In this final episode of the series, the Scam Secrets team unpick a fraud which ripped through a group of close mates. One by one, their Instagram accounts were infiltrated as, believing they were chatting to a friend, they handed over their login details, hoping to join a crypto investment scheme. But that gave the criminals all they needed to take over the account and use it as a platform to try the same trick on all their followers.

It's a modern day pyramid scheme that plays on the victims' desire to make money and their trust in their friends.

Scam Secrets will be back later in the year. In the meantime, you can contact the team at [email protected].

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

A roofer's at your door - they've spotted a couple of loose tiles and they can fix them straight away. It's only a quick job. Would you know what to do?

Almost all of the scams we've dissected so far have been done remotely - on the phone, by text or online. But what if the criminal is standing right in front of you - perhaps even inside your home? That's what the Scam Secrets team are looking at in this episode. Because while criminals have embraced the digital world and AI, they'll still steal from you face to face too - and many of the techniques are the same.

We hear from Jane, who got one of those knocks on the door from a 'roofer' - before long, she'd had thousands of pounds stolen by criminals who even used a fake video of birds on her roof to try to steal more.

It's not just rogue traders though - who can resist helping someone in need? We'll hear what happens when a man approaches people at a motorway service station with a simple-sounding request for help...

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY