If the payment has been set up as a Direct Debit, get in touch with your bank to stop this immediately. Contact your bank or card provider immediately if you've lost money, so they can start trying to get it back.If you think you’ve been scammed there are things you need to do. This means any suspicious or unexpected calls you do receive are almost certainly from people you don’t want to deal with. Sign-up for a call blocking service like the Telephone Preference Service This might not stop all scam calls as they operate outside the legal guidelines, but it will stop cold-callers.Check to see if the web address starts with HTTPS, not just HTTP. Make sure any websites you are using are secure.Your standard 3G or 4G connection is often more secure than the one in the coffee shop or restaurant. Use safe and secure WiFi connections and avoid public WiFi.If you’re unsure about any other kind of company, you can look them up on Companies House to find out their background, or search for reviews online.If they’re not on it, don’t have anything to do with them. Also check the FCA warnings for cloned firms Opens in a new windows If you’re unsure about a financial services company, check the FCA register of regulated companies.But, if you do that, you are just sending a scammer your savings. Someone will call you pretending to be from your bank’s fraud team and ask you to transfer your money over to a safe account to protect it. Never transfer money to a ‘holding account’.Don’t make any payments until you are sure the company you’re dealing with is legitimate. Check with the company directly before making any payments.Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts and change them regularly. Make sure all your accounts have strong passwords.Don’t ignore updates as these can often include patches to protect against new kinds of scams, viruses and ransomware. Keep operating system and virus protection software up-to-date.Your bank will ask you to use a card reader or ask for a few digits of your password if they need it. In particular, you should never share your full PIN or password with anyone. This can be used to steal your identity and access accounts. If you’re a customer of the company use the contact details given to you in official paperwork or on their website to check if the person approaching you is legitimate. Don't answer phone calls, letters or emails if they look unfamiliar. The next step to avoiding scams is to know how to protect yourself both off and online. Just in case, don't click links in text messages, and if in doubt, contact the company directly using contact details from their website or correspondence to check whether it’s a real message. The scam text message might even appear in the same conversation as legitimate texts you’ve had before. Text messages – Modern scammers can make their numbers look like ones you trust, like your bank’s.If it’s a scam, the email address the message has come from might not match up with the sender’s name, have misspellings, random numbers or be from one of your contacts that’s been hacked. Email address - If you get an email, expand the pane at the top of the message and see exactly who it has come from, it could say it’s from TV Licensing but if you click or hover over the name it might reveal something different.This means you should not be contacted by any company about your pension unless you’ve asked them to. Since January 2019, there has been a ban on cold calling about pensions. Unsolicited or unexpected contact - If you’ve received any kind of contact, but particularly a phone call, out of the blue, it is best to avoid it.Knowing what to look out for when it comes to scams is one of the best ways to protect yourself.
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