Warning sounded over rise of fake gambling scams in the UK

Virgin Media O2 has warned that there has been a rise in scam messages claiming to offer prizes.

UK.- The telecoms and media company Virgin Media O2 has warned that it’s seen a rise in the number of gambling prize scams in the UK. It’s also identified increases in recruitment and car finance scams based on messages reported and blocked during the month of August.

The most commonly reported messages were gambling or fake prize scams that offer free credit on gambling sites, or prizes or rewards with a link to an unsafe website. People are then encouraged to hand over personal details including bank information to claim their prize.

The company cited typical examples as follows:

Your account is now loaded with GBP500 plus 150 FreeSpins Redeem and play today at: <website removed>

Congratulations! You’ve received a summer gift! Expires tomorrow. Open it <website removed>

The second most common tactic identified was so-called ‘Hi Mum / Hi Dad’ scams, where scammers pretend to be a child reaching out to their parent in distress on a new phone number before asking them to transfer money.

Third on the list is fake parking fines, where scammers threaten fines or for people’s licence to be revoked if they do not visit a suspicious website and make an immediate payment.

Also on the rise are recruitment scams where fraudsters say they’re hiring for lucrative positions which don’t exist and car finance scams in which victims are told they are entitled to compensation. In both, scammers encourage people to share personal information and may ask them to pay fees for their services to help secure the job or access compensation.

See also: British PM pledges more local power over “location and numbers of gambling outlets”
Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud prevention at Virgin Media O2, said: “Scammers aren’t sticking to old tricks; they’re evolving fast, tapping into trending news and targeting vulnerable people with fake prizes, job offers and financial compensation schemes.

“At Virgin Media O2 we’re doing everything we can and have already blocked more than 600 million scam texts from reaching our customers so far this year. By analysing these messages and sounding the alarm, we’re helping to spread the word about the latest trends and help Brits to swerve the scammers.”

“But with fraud continuing to increase, we’re reminding people to remain vigilant; always be careful when you receive a call or text out of the blue, don’t share personal details with anyone and report suspicious messages for free to 7726.”

The company noted that customers can forward suspicious texts or calls for free to 7726 – which spells ‘SPAM’ on an alphanumeric phone keypad – on any network. Customer with certain devices including newer iPhones can also use the ‘report junk’ tool which appears at the bottom of messages from people not in their contacts.

By reporting messages, it makes it easier for new trends to be identified and shut down faster, the company said.