Scam Secrets

A group of young jobseekers are gathered outside a dental surgery in West London, nervously waiting for a trial shift for the job they've just applied for. But as time ticks on, they realise there is no shift. In fact there is no job. But it gets much worse - their identities have all been stolen.

Shari Vahl and the Scam Secrets team hear from one of those people, Joe. For him, the real impact of what the criminals had done only hit home several months later.

What started as a plausible looking job posting on a big recruitment site, from a business that checked out, ended with him trying to extract himself from thousands of pounds' worth of loans and the lingering fear of what the criminals would do next.

It's a growing scam aimed at anyone browsing online recruitment sites. Would you spot the red flags?

Remember you can get in touch with the Scam Secrets team: [email protected]

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

If you buy from a website that turns out to be fake and run by criminals, your first thought is probably about the money you've parted with. But that's not all they're after. Because you're also handing over personal data that can be far more lucrative than whatever you paid for the rubbish clothes that you're left with.

In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood revisit the Great Knitted Cardigan Scam to find out what happens to the information victims enter into these sites. Email address, phone number, bank details...Shari calls it identity bingo. She's uncovered an audacious technique where victims' details are used as returns addresses to make these bogus sites look legitimate. And it doesn't stop there - cyber security expert Matthew Gracey-McMinn reveals how our data changes hands on the dark web and some of the other uses criminals make of it.

Remember you can contact the Scam Secrets team and tell us the scams you want to see investigated - [email protected]

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

You've been invited onto a well-known podcast (not this one). They'll even pay you to take part. Would you know what to do?

Shari Vahl, Alex Wood and Dr Lis Carter unravel an elaborate scam that's aimed at people and organisations with a big social following. They hear from a dog groomer who was tricked into handing over her Facebook account by an extremely convincing-sounding invitation to appear on a US podcast. The same trick has been used on other charities and influencers and it's made even harder to spot because the podcast does exist. So how are you supposed to check?

And crucially, what are the criminals really after?

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

You've booked a holiday and the hotel gets in touch to ask for a payment to confirm your booking. They know your name and they've got all the details of your reservation. Would you know what to do? In this episode, people using booking.com are targeted by a hard-to-spot scam where official-looking messages arrive, asking for payment. Needless to say, that payment doesn't go to the hotel. But how do the criminals do it? And what chance do you have of spotting it?

Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood find out, with the help of cyber crime expert Rafe Pilling.

Remember you can contact the programme at [email protected].

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Whether we're chatting, texting, buying or dating, the tech services we all use are being abused by criminals to worm their way into our lives. So what are these huge businesses doing to keep us safe?

In this episode of Scam Secrets recorded at the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, some of the biggest names in consumer tech chat to Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood about the threats they're facing.

Red flags at the ready, we ask Amazon what the world's biggest online marketplace is doing to protect users. Match Group, owner of Tinder, Hinge and a host of other well-known dating sites tells us it's trying to weed out fake profiles. And Virgin Media/O2 lifts the lid on how those Winter Fuel Allowance texts arrive on your phone.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

A message pops up. It's a scam, you can spot that. But who sent it? Where in the world did it come from? And how has it ended up in your inbox? For this special episode of Scam Secrets, the team visit the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Vienna. Pretty much everyone engaged in the world fight against scams is there too, from politicians and police to the biggest tech companies on the planet. Challenged by listener Catherine to find out more about the criminals who stole £200,000 from her dad in the previous episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood ask Interpol why it isn't easier to track criminals down. And the organised crime chief of the United Nations tells us how networks of global organised crime lie behind that message you received - and offers harrowing evidence of why the scammers are often victims too.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

Scam Secrets is back with a close look at a disturbing and emerging scam technique that can totally clean out its victims.

In a hybrid scam - or pig butchering, as the criminals describe it - the manipulation reaches new levels as investment and romance scams are combined. Shari Vahl, criminal language expert Dr Lis Carter and former fraudster Alex Wood hear from Catherine, whose father was targeted in this way. A chilling voicenote reveals the romantic element to the scam, while a criminal pretending to be an investment adviser was busy stealing more than £200,000 from the 84-year-old.

One of the leading experts on this trend, Dr Martina Dove, tells the team how she's read detailed scripts guiding criminals through how to psychologically manipulate different types of victims to a terrifying level of detail.

Remember if there's a scam you want the team to investigate, or if you want to let us know what you thought of the programme - get in touch at [email protected]

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

It's coming up to Christmas, and you might have gift cards on your mind. The perfect present choice for many scenarios - but also the perfect weapon for criminals.

So what turns these versatile gifts into gold dust for criminals? That's what Shari Vahl, Elisabeth Carter and Alex Wood will be finding out, along with the shocking story of Sarah, who thought she was helping out her boss while on work experience but ended up buying £1,300 in gift cards for criminals.

As always, the team will get under the skin of the scam, hearing how criminals target their victims and why even a simple LinkedIn post could put you at risk.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

WhatsApp is part of our daily lives – and criminals know how to weaponise that trust.

In this episode, Shari Vahl and the team hear how a devastatingly simple trick handed the keys for a Scam Secrets listener's WhatsApp account to a scammer. Along with expert linguist Dr Elisabeth Carter and former criminal Alex Wood, Shari finds out what the hacker did next - and how an old friend was tricked into handing over money.

As ever, there will be red flags waving to show you what to watch out for - and essential tips from our guest expert to keep your account secure.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

You might be on the lookout for work - so when a message arrives with a job offer, the timing is perfect. This is what happens to the people who are drawn in by the fake recruitment text scam that has been bombarding people's phones.

Shari Vahl, Dr Elisabeth Carter and Alex Wood hear how one man was lured in with promises of payment for simple tasks - then trapped in a cycle of payments and false earnings, even unwittingly becoming a money mule for the criminal pretending to be his boss. Just to ramp up the psychological pressure, his 'co-workers' were also in on the act.

The Scam Secrets team will dissect the criminals' methods, revealing what lies behind this extremely common and seemingly innocuous text message. And they'll wave their red flags so you can safely steer clear of what could turn out to be a very expensive job offer.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY