Local MP Mark Pawsey has highlighted the risk to Rugby residents from online fraud and other scams as part of Take 5 to Stop Fraud Week, a national campaign to help empower customers to protect themselves.
Mark joined staff at the Coventry Building Society branch in Rugby town centre and Warwickshire Police, who were offering advice to customers about the different ways they can avoid becoming a victim of crime. This includes avoiding being tricked into giving a fraudster access to your personal or financial details, and never automatically clicking on a link in an unexpected email or text. You should also always question uninvited approaches in case it’s a scam and contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.
Financial Fraud Action UK figures indicate there were over 1.8 million incidents of financial fraud last year, impacting people right across the country, including in Rugby and Bulkington. To address this Take Five Week brings together banks and building societies, local law enforcement, the Government and MPs, as well as public and third sector organisations to give advice to the public.
Mark commented:
“The issue of financial crime is one that has been drawn to my attention by local businesswoman Anne Gleed, who contacted me after she was defrauded by criminals whilst purchasing a new car. Mrs Gleed fell victim to an Authorised Push Payment scam, in which a fraudster impersonates a business to provide false payment details for a transaction. That is why the Take 5 to Stop Fraud Week stresses the importance of always confirming payment details before sending large amounts of money, and never to trust an email advising a change of payment details.”
Mark continued:
“Criminals are now very sophisticated, so it is more important than ever that people are aware of the advice from Take Five on how to protect themselves from becoming a victim. Fraudsters will do all they can to appear like the real deal, so you should always be on your guard for any calls, texts or emails out of the blue asking for your details. During Take Five Week we want to get the message across that it’s vital to stop and think before you give away any information.”
Neil Lover, Head of Payments & Financial Crime and Money Laundering Reporting Officer at the Coventry Building Society added:
“Coventry Building Society is proud to support Take Five, the Government and financial services industry national awareness campaign offering straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone in the UK protect themselves against financial fraud. We used the week as a focal point for all the efforts we make to educate our members about financial fraud and to help them take the right steps to protect themselves. We know Mark is passionate about activities that help protect the public from financial crime and we’re delighted that he could visit our Rugby branch to meet customers, our staff and join with Warwickshire Police and Citizens Advice Bureau who were also present to provide advice to account holders of the Coventry Building Society.”