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Society launches digital tutorials on avoiding fraud & staying safe online as Covid scams rise

Yorkshire Building Society has launched two new digital tutorials with hints and tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of financial fraud and how to stay safe and secure online, at a time when scammers are using Covid-19 to target the public.

The videos are released as figures from UK Finance show there were almost 15,000 impersonation scam cases reported in the first half of 2020, up 84 per cent compared to the same period last year, as criminals exploit Covid-19 to impersonate the police, banks and government organisations.*

The tutorials, hosted by colleagues from the Society, are for its customers as well as members of the public who want to learn more about online safety and gain greater awareness of some of the techniques that financial scammers use.

Building Societies, banks and other financial service providers work hard to protect their customers – and in 2018 stopped £2 in every £3 of attempted unauthorised fraud but criminals still managed to steal a total of £1.2 billion.

Sally Hodgson, fraud manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Fraud scams can happen to anybody and we know that fraudsters are taking advantage of the pandemic to target people for financial fraud. We also want to help people be more confident about keeping their personal and financial details safe, private and secure online. We know that digital transacting has understandably sped up as a quick and easy alternative to face to face contact, especially during lockdowns where people have been urged to stay at home. 

“By launching our online videos we hope to reach as many people as possible across the UK to raise awareness around these issues. The tutorials show common types of scams and the things you can to do to prevent fraud, as well as how to keep your details secure online.”

Yorkshire Building Society is a member of the Take Five national campaign led by UK Finance and backed by the Government, that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.

The online tutorials and more information on protecting yourself from fraud and staying safe online can be found at www.ybs.co.uk/staysafe.

Fighting Financial Fraud –

 

Staying Safe Online –