Dorset Police is urging people to have a #FraudFreeXmas by supporting Action Fraud’s 12 Frauds of Christmas campaign.
They’re advising rsidents to stay alert to fraudsters taking advantage of the time of year.
The Christmas campaign by Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, reveals the 12 fraud types to look out for throughout the festive season, both online and in person.
Damian Cranny, Fraud Protect Officer at Dorset Police, said “Christmas is meant for giving, not for criminals taking – so let’s keep them off our Christmas list.
“Criminals don’t take a break during the festive season and here in Dorset, we’re seeing fraudsters using increasingly sophisticated methods to target our residents.
“I strongly encourage everyone to remain vigilant and follow Action Fraud’s advice, particularly when shopping online or making any financial transactions.
“If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it to Action Fraud immediately.”
New national figures from Action Fraud show that the 12 types of fraud featured in this year’s Christmas campaign resulted in victims losing a combined total of £224 million during the 2023 festive period.
Data also shows that nearly three million phishing emails were reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) from November 2023 to January 2024.
The 12 frauds of Christmas are:
- Phishing
- Pet fraud
- Online shopping fraud
- Social media and email account hacking
- Courier fraud
- Romance fraud
- Gift card fraud
- Charity fraud
- Investment fraud
- QR code fraud
- Holiday fraud
- Ticket fraud
Advice to protect yourself from fraud this Christmas includes:
- Protect your online accounts: the password you use for your email account should be different from all your other passwords for online accounts. Use three random words to create a strong and memorable password, and enable 2-step verification (2SV).
- Do your research: make sure you do a thorough online search before making any big financial decisions. Check the authenticity of the company or organisation before making any investment, donation to charity or booking tickets for a concert, event or holiday.
- Be cautious about how you send money: avoid paying via bank transfer and don’t be pressured into transferring large sums of money. Any trusted organisation will not force you to transfer money on the spot and only a fraudster will try to rush you. For making purchases online, use a credit card if you can.
- Be wary of unsolicited emails, texts, QR codes or contact on social media: from seeing unbelievably good deals on tickets or holidays, to seeing a suspiciously cheap prices on items advertised, always double check the authenticity of what you are going to buy online before making a purchase or paying upfront fees.
- Report suspicious emails by forwarding them to: report@phishing.gov.uk
- Report suspicious text messages or spam calls free of charge to 7726
If you’ve lost money or provided your financial information to someone, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.