Last week the BBC ran this article on their website – Ghost Broking: Young and vulnerable people targeted by insurance scam – LINK.
The gist of the article is that scammers pose as middlemen for insurance companies. They claim to be able to arrange cheap car insurance for those struggling to get affordable cover. They might advertise on student websites or WhatsApp or social media. They might actually arrange the insurance, but then cancel it without the insured person’s knowledge. This means the money is returned to the scammer and the victim is left uninsured. The victim may never know unless they are involved in an accident or pulled over by the Police for some reason.
So what can you do ?
You can warn friends and family to watch out for these kinds of scams. When you come across one you can report it on social media and encourage others to spread the news to get any scam accounts blocked. You can report it to Action Fraud.
Life is hard enough without having to wonder whether every text or email might be a scam. Unfortunately that is today’s modern world and the best advice we can give is to treat every text or email you receive as a potential scam. Don’t pay just because you receive a text from an organisation you recognise. Scammers are very good at copying the branding of any organisation or government department.
