According to a BBC report, in the UK over £620 million was stolen by financial scammers in the first half of 2025.
Furthermore, Citizens Advice confirms that 7 million UK adults have been hit by a scam in the past year, with 1 in 5 (20%) said they were significantly affected by the financial loss they suffered.
Many financial scams are sophisticated and make use of technological innovation. For example, scammers now use AI technology to clone voices and generate fake videos.
Read about some ways you may be targeted, and how you can protect yourself from fraudsters.
5 common financial scams you should be aware of
By being aware of the common methods scammers may use to try to steal your money, you are more likely to recognise when you are being targeted. That way, you can take steps to prevent them from being successful.
Many scams will be variants of these five techniques.
1. Impersonation scams
Fraudsters may pose as trusted organisations such as your bank, HMRC, or the government to trick you into giving them access to your money.
They may even hoodwink you into transferring your money to them. For example, a common scam involves someone purporting to be from your bank warning that your account is being targeted and advising you to transfer your funds to a “safe” account.
Clearly, the safe account in question will be one of theirs, and you will never see your money again.
Scams of this nature often take place at night, when you are likely to be tired and off your guard.
2. Investment scams
You might be offered a “can’t miss” investment opportunity that the “salesperson” will tell you is guaranteed to deliver a substantial return on your money with little risk.
As is often the case with any kind of scam, they will try to rush you into a decision to prevent you from thinking too long and hard about the legitimacy of the opportunity you’ve been offered. So, you may be advised that there is a bonus or discount if you invest now, or that it’s a time-limited offer.
In reality, the investment will either not exist at all, or will be very high risk with a big commission payable to the scammer.
3. Phishing scams
Similar to impersonation scams, fraudsters will contact you by email, text, or phone calls pretending to be from legitimate companies. Rather than steal your money directly, they will trick you into revealing your personal and financial details. Hence, “phishing” for information.
These are likely to be part of a gradual process of collecting personal information about you, so a lot of the contact could be innocuous, such as your month or day of birth.
They will then piece this together themselves to be able to target your finances or sell your data to other scammers.
4. Authorised push payment scams
“Push payment” refers to scams that involve you being persuaded to transfer money into a fraudster’s account.
The investment scam you have already read about is an example of this, but there are a variety of other common push payment scams where you are conned into making a transaction that you believe to be legitimate.
A fraudster will use a range of tactics to convince you to part with your money, including fake invoices and other bogus payment requests.
5. Crypto scams
Scammers are constantly looking to take advantage of new opportunities to steal your money. Evidence of this comes from a Reuters report that revealed that cryptocurrency scams in the US could have resulted in over $12 billion being stolen in 2024.
Cryptocurrency remains obscure and is commonly used by criminals to hide and launder illegal gains, so it’s no surprise that scammers are looking to exploit it.
They will set up fraudulent trading platforms or run scams such as pump-and-dump schemes, encouraging you to buy cryptocurrency before its value plummets.
With scammers increasingly using AI, it’s important to keep up to date with their tactics. Updates are often shared in the financial section of newspapers and online financial consumer websites.
There are some simple ways you can protect yourself from scammers
As well as being aware of the methods scammers use, there are some other simple steps you can take to protect yourself.
- Always remember the golden rule: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, especially when it comes to investment opportunities.
- Be suspicious of unsolicited communications asking you for money or personal information. If you are in any doubt, hang up or delete the email.
- Always use a contact method you are confident is secure to confirm the identity of a person or business you are dealing with, not one provided by a potential fraudster.
- Never share sensitive information online or over the phone unless you initiated the contact with a person or business you trust.
- If you need to share your bank details, use separate channels – even if it is to someone you trust. For example, text the account number and give your sort code verbally.
- If you are in any doubt about a company you are dealing with, use the Financial Conduct Authority firm checker to confirm their UK accreditation. If you are concerned about your assets you may have in Australia, take a look at the IOSCO website that lists overseas scam warnings.
By following these steps, and always staying alert to the potential threat of being scammed, you will greatly reduce your risk of falling victim to a scam.
As well as protecting yourself, you should also share this information with your friends and family, especially elderly relatives who may be less tech-savvy and more likely to fall victim to an unscrupulous scammer.
We can help you identify legitimate investment opportunities
If you’ve been informed about a financial opportunity, either in the UK or Australia, please get in touch with us.
We can help you assess whether it is legitimate and how it may fit into your wider financial plan.
Please note
This article is for information only, it does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs.
Please do not solely rely on anything you have read in this article and ensure that you conduct your own research to ensure any actions you may take are suitable for your circumstances.
All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC and ATO legislation, which is subject to change.