In Sussex, most fraud falls into the category of online shopping, bank account fraud, advance fee fraud or some form of hacking. In the last three months of 2023, West Sussex County Council also highlighted courier fraud, romance fraud and sextortion as highly-reported fraud types.
Across both counties, the police and Victim Support are seeing increases in the family Whatsapp scam, (“back with a vengeance”, according to Lisa Mills, Senior Fraud Manager for Victim Support), and doorstep rogue traders.
In Part 1 of this article, we explained bank account fraud, advance fee/Investment fraud and courier fraud. Here we explain some additional fraud types, how they are impacting residents in Sussex and how you can protect yourself.
Online shopping fraud
Online shopping fraud is something many people have experienced. Fake websites are set up impersonating reputable ones and/or counterfeit or low-quality goods are provided instead of the real deal. While it is frustrating to lose money or receive rubbish, further problems can arise if you have given your personal and financial data to fraudsters during the transaction.
Guidance from Which? can help you minimise the risk of falling victim to an online shopping scam. And if you have a credit card, it is recommended to use that for any online shopping, as purchases over a certain value are protected in law.
Rogue traders
In-person fraud still occurs and in Sussex, it’s most evident with rogue traders. These are people who knock on doors and offer cut-price equipment or building work, then either do a bad job or no job at all, running off with their victims’ money.
In May, rogue trader Terry Green of Sompting in West Sussex, was sent to prison for a second time after conning residents out of nearly £150,000 for poor quality roofing works.
Sussex and Surrey Police also recently reported a jet-washing doorstep scam. In one case, an older female resident was given a leaflet and asked if she wanted her roof cleaned for around £1,500. She declined but when she went inside, the man jet-washed part of her roof anyway. The lady managed to get the man to leave without paying him anything, but others have reported “intimidating and aggressive” behaviour from the jet washers.
Refusing doorstep sellers and getting recommendations for tradespeople from friends and family or from sources such as Buy with Confidence is recommended. Trading Standards in East and West Sussex also investigate criminals like Green and work with the police to bring them to justice.
Romance fraud
Bernie Lawrie, Sussex Police’s Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer calls romance fraud “one of the most hideous fraud types”.
Criminals use a fake profile and form a ‘relationship’ with victims over several weeks or months, with the aim of stealing money or personal information. Mills said they target people who are most vulnerable; for example, people who have recently been widowed or those fighting or recovering from cancer.
The fraudsters will ‘love bomb’ their victims, constantly contacting them. “With all fraud, it’s about manipulation,” says Mills. And once the criminals have established a connection, “they use guilt-tripping, saying ‘if you loved me, you’d send me money’.”
Even something as seemingly harmless as receiving money from your partner to help them out can have a devastating impact.
“We’ve had people blacklisted by the banking system and having to seek help from credit unions, because they’ve accepted money into their account and become a money mule,” says Mills.
Romance fraud particularly can take months or even years to get over. Mills and her colleagues regularly hear that, as well as having to get over being de-frauded, the victims are also “mourning the loss of a relationship”.
Sextortion
Murray Dowey, the Scottish teenager who died by suicide in December after falling victim to sextortion, is a terrible reminder of the catastrophic impact of fraud on individuals and their families.
In West Sussex, the County Council are very concerned that sextortion reports have been increasing, with 14-17 year olds most likely to be victims. On 29 April this year, the National Crime Agency took the unprecedented step of issuing an alert to all teachers in the UK about the risks of sextortion in young people, as well as links to reporting tools for young people and adults.
Sextortion is a form of blackmail where the perpetrator uses a fake identity to befriend a victim online. They then manipulate the victim into sending an intimate video, recording or image of an intimate exchange. The victim is threatened with these being shared with their contacts and online unless they do what the criminal wants – normally, pay some kind of ransom.
For young people, it can be particularly difficult to talk about, as Mills explains: “People are just left overwhelmed…it’s devastating because people’s pictures are ‘out there.’ It breaks your trust and compromises your ability to go about your everyday life.”
Help from Operation Signature
So what support is available to Sussex residents who are at risk of, or who have been preyed on by fraudsters?
Operation Signature, Sussex Police’s campaign to identify and protect vulnerable people from fraud, has been running for several years. It incorporates an automatic referral for victims of fraud to Victim Support as part of a ‘seamless process’. The caseworkers are funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Operation Signature’s website contains links to regular newsletters on fraud, the Little Book of Big Scams and other helpful information.
And active work is being undertaken by banks who have “really upped their game in the last few years” in respect of counter-fraud.
The Banking Protocol trains bank staff to ask questions when money is moved and alert the police if they think someone is potentially being targeted in a scam. reports that over £2.5m has been saved in Sussex alone over the last year through the Protocol.
And even if you have lost money through fraud, there is hope. Through Victim Support’s advocacy work, more than £1,000,000 has been saved over the last two years by providing support to clients with successfully appealing to their bank or The Financial Ombudsman Service.
What can you do to keep yourself as safe as possible?
If you have been the victim of fraud, you can report it to Action Fraud or call the Police on 101 if you know the suspect or they are still in the area.
You can also contact Victim Support Sussex for help, without needing a referral from the police. If it involves a payment from your bank, phone your bank’s fraud line as soon as possible – banks are now obliged to refund fraudulent payments of up to £85,000 within five days.
If nothing else, Lawrie advises: “If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. The advice is: Stop. Take five. Listen. Check everything. And talk to friends and family because two brains are better than one.”
And as Mills says, if you have been scammed, it’s important to remember there is help and support available and, most importantly, “It’s never your fault.”
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