Half of all UK adults affected by scams

Half of all UK adults (51%) have been affected by scams, according to new research from Canada Life. This equates to 27m people across the UK.

Most of these cases can be described “phishing scams” (51%), when a fraudster attempts to imitate a legitimate company or person to secure important information from the victim. Crypto scams are also becoming worryingly common, with 1 in 5 reporting they or someone they know has received one in the last 12 months.

Pension transfer scam communications account for almost one in ten (8%) of contacts, while romance scams or dating scams are similar at 11%.

Around a fifth (21%) of those who have, or knew someone who has been contacted, say they have lost money because of approaches by scammers. However, among 18 to 34-year-olds, this increases to almost half (46%).

The average loss to scams for themselves/someone they know was around £207, with this amount almost doubling to £361 for those aged 18-34 years old, compared to £112 for those aged 55+.

Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life said “Scammers are a scourge of our society and continue to come up with devious ways to come between us and our hard-earned cash. In a cost-of-living crisis it may be all too tempting to try and make a quick buck or be attracted to market beating investment returns. Run a mile, these ‘get rich quick’ schemes will only pour more financial pain on those who unfortunately fall prey to the thieves and conmen.”

“With crypto scams becoming more common, perhaps it’s unsurprising that more younger generations are being caught out. Not only are 18–34 year olds more likely to fall victim to a scam than older generations, but they are also set to lose more financially. It might be the case of ‘bet big, win big.’ But sadly, the reality is ‘bet big, lose big’. Scammers are often already heading for the door before you realise what is happening.”

“With many families struggling to make ends meet, and as the cost-of-living squeeze tightens, offering easy access to your pension might seem the perfect opportunity to dig yourself out of trouble. The reality is you can’t access your pension savings before the age of 55, so it’s very likely it will be scammers.”

“Follow the simple rule of thumb, if it appears too good to be true, it inevitably is. Simply walk away, hang up, or delete the email or text to keep your money safe from the scammers.”