It was reported by the BBC in September 2025 that police had announced that more and more cyber-criminals were amassing personal information shared on social media so that they could then hijack people’s mobile phone numbers.
It was further added that “fraudsters then steal bank security codes as well as gain access to online accounts to empty savings and rack up debts”.
Which has reported that weak e-mail security has been allowing fraudsters to participate in SIM swap fraud. They also question whether mobile networks are really doing enough to protect customers.
Which? have some useful information here about how you can avoid this damaging form of fraud.
Scam calls and texts
Scam emails or text messages can be very distressing and the National Cyber Security Centre has a lot of information about ways you can spot such messages.
Which? has warned that fraudsters can use software to change the number displayed on your phone and can even impersonate the phone number of your bank in a practice known as number spoofing.
Fraudsters have been able to exploit loopholes to carry out their schemes despite efforts by the government and more and more efforts to stop it.
Which? has made a useful list of ways to avoid number spoofing scams, including car finance and insurance scam calls, DBT impersonation texts, a loft insulation scam, Tesco mobile scam calls, and Google new login text scams. There is more information about all these here.
More of the latest trending scams
Which? Has also warned the public about a number of recent trending scams.
These include:
- A dodgy car finance text, which claims that you could be owed money due to mis-sold car finance
- A television licence scam e-mail claiming that your TV licence could not be renewed
- Apple texts, scammers claiming to be Apple, saying that there was a problem processing your billing details
- E-mails from National Rail which tells you that you are a valued National Rail passenger and so could be in with a chance of getting a pair of earbuds.
More on this and the latest scams can be read here .
The rise of fake days out on social media
Which? have also been warning the public about a growing trend for scammers to try and defraud social media users by advertising fake days out. These can be anything from hot air balloon festivals to Buckingham Palace markets and the criminals use videos and AI images to encourage visitors to go to attractions that simply do not exist
Travel experts from Which? investigated these scams and explained how to identify an AI generated social media post or fake messages and give people tips on how to buy event tickets safely.
Romance fraud cost UK victims £102M last year
Meanwhile Neighbourhood Alert have announced that romance fraud cost UK victims a staggering £102M last year as online romances continue to be exploited by criminals for financial gain.
According to analysis, it is older people aged 55 to 74 who have been most at risk from financial losses, with almost half of the total amount stolen, coming from that age group. Women experienced higher individual losses, making up just over 40 per cent of the total value reported, although men submitted a higher number of reports overall.
Online platforms are where romance fraud primarily takes place, particularly dating and social media sites. On these sites, fraudsters have been able to create convincing false identities. Increased use of AI‑generated images and messages to support these profiles has also been noted by investigators. Fake investment opportunities, including cryptocurrency, is another link to romance fraud, increasing the financial risk to victims.
Consequently, Neighbourhood Alert is urging the public to be very careful when forming online relationships online.
Scam checking tools
It is not always easy to identify a dodgy call text or website these days as scams have evolved significantly over the last few years. However, there are free tools available and these can help you to work out what’s likely to be a fraud.
Which has asked for the Which scam action and alerts Facebook community to share some of their best tools. More information about them here .
Staying safe from bank impersonation scams
Which? has also been giving advice about how to avoid scams when fraudsters impersonate banks, in order to gain personal and/or financial information from you.
Which? has said that, “if you receive a call claiming to be from your bank, the safest thing to do is hang up and call 159, which will connect you with your bank. We advise that you do this on a different phone line, or wait at least 15 minutes before you do – just in case the scammer is still connected to the call”.
Any scam attempt can also be reported to reportfraud.police.uk, or by calling the police on 101 if you live in Scotland.
More on this story can be read here.
Scam Sharer Tool
You can help others to avoid scams and fraudsters by sharing any scam information you have on a scam sharer tool here.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
