Protect against scams and fraud

Doorstep criminals, such as rogue traders, cowboy builders and gardening scammers, cold call households offering deals to get you to agree to having work carried out.

If you accept work from a doorstep criminal, you may pay much more than you intended for very poor, unnecessary and sometimes dangerous work.

Paperwork is rarely provided. Advance payments are often demanded. Names, addresses and business details can be false. Phone calls might not be answered.

Never let a stranger who knocks at your door uninvited work on your house or garden.

Safety tips

• Be patient – good tradespeople typically are not available to start immediately. Be wary of any tradesperson who can start quickly or says they have just had a cancellation.
• Get genuine recommendations from people you know and trust. Do not post messages on social media asking for a tradesperson – rogue traders use these platforms.
• Try to get three independent quotes, making sure the quotes are detailed and give firm prices not estimates.
• Agree on start and expected completion dates and set up a payment plan. Never pay large deposits upfront.
• Do not rely on guarantees offered by trader approval sites. These are often limited to small amounts and will not cover the cost of putting things right if the works go wrong.
• Understand the requirements around planning and building regulations.
• Make sure you get everything in writing.

To report a rogue trader, find your local Trading Standards office.

Businesses might receive email invoices for services or products that were never ordered, in an attempt to trick them into making payments to fraudulent accounts.

The invoice might say the due date for the payment has passed, or threaten that non-payment will affect credit rating.

Red flags to look out for

• Examine the formatting and quality of invoices for inconsistencies and errors
• Cross-check suspicious invoices against genuine purchases
• Be wary of requests using urgent language or trying to pressure you

Stop and think before taking action.

Criminals will often pose as a trusted authority, such as banks, the government, or even friends or family, suggesting that you need to pay a fine or move your money.

They may have hacked the social media accounts of family and friends and request information or financial help. Contact can occur in multiple ways, via text, phone calls, emails or even via the post.

To protect yourself always double-check that you have made your own verification as to whom you are speaking to.

Never open any suspicious links in messages you receive from people you do not know or trust.

If you are unsure about a link to a website, do not click on it. If the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research on a website and go with your instincts.

To protect yourself:

• look for “https://” and the padlock icon in the address bar
• avoid carrying out any financial transactions over unsecure connections, such as public Wifi
• make sure you have effective and updated anti-virus or anti-spyware software and firewall running before you go online
• double check the website address, looking closely for errors in spelling or inaccurate characters in the URL
• check credit card and bank statements carefully after shopping to make sure the correct amount has been debited, and also that no fraud has taken place as a result of the transaction

Be extra cautious when buying items online.

Most romance scams start on social media platforms or dating apps. The scammers create fake profiles to build trust with potential victims.

They often encourage victims to move the conversation away from the initial platform to less-monitored channels, such as WhatsApp or Telegram, before asking for money.

Criminals will often invent emotional back stories to encourage victims to send funds, even encouraging them to take out loans or financial agreements.

The Online Dating and Discovery Association offers more advice on how to Date Safe.