"Lloyds Bank Warns of 80% Surge in Advance Fee Scams"

A leading UK bank has recently warned consumers about the rise of scams in which victims are asked to pay an upfront fee for a product or service that doesn’t materialize.  According to Lloyds Bank, so-called “advance fee” fraud surged by 82% year-on-year in 2022, with fake ads for loans, jobs, and rental properties among the most common tactics used by scammers.  The lender claimed that the cost-of-living crisis may be forcing consumers into making risky decisions.  The bank noted that this is especially true of loan fee scams, where fraudsters target people on low incomes or with a poor credit history in the hope they’ll take the bait.  They’ll approve a loan no matter what the victim’s credit history is and then request an upfront fee in order to receive the funds, which never arrive.  Reports of loan fee scams have increased 105% year-on-year and continue to rise sharply.  The company stated that the important thing to remember is that a genuine lender will always conduct thorough credit checks prior to agreeing a loan and won’t ask for an upfront payment before releasing the funds.  The average victim lost $881 last year, down significantly from $1479 in 2021.  The bank noted that this could be because fraudsters are going for higher volumes of lower value scams.  Those aged 25 - 44 years old are most likely to fall victim.  People in this age range make up around half (49%) of all victims.

Infosecurity reports: "Lloyds Bank Warns of 80% Surge in Advance Fee Scams"