U.K. Citizens See 82% Increase in Advanced Fee Scams in the Last Year



Advanced Fee ScamsIn the wake of the rising cost of living, new scams targeting those in less-than-optimal financial situations based on “deprived” areas throughout the country.

Scammers take advantage of any misfortune they can, as it creates the sense of urgency needed to throw caution to the wind and get unsuspecting victims to play their role. New data from Lloyd’s of London shows that scammers have increased their efforts behind advanced fee scams where victims pay an upfront fee for goods and services that never materialize.

According to the Lloyd’s data, ads for loans, jobs and rental properties are the most common theming of these kinds of scams, taking advantage of those seeking employment, financial relief, or less expensive rent.

It even appears that victims are being targeted based on location, with the West Midlands being a particular hotspot. These attacks are seeing successes, as 70% of all cases of these advanced fee scams are occurring in lower income areas of the country.

What makes this dangerous to a business is that you don’t know an employee’s financial situation – which can be a source of risk. While the scams tracked by Lloyd’s of London are intent on simply stealing funds, we’ve seen job scams that result in malware infections within the business, making it necessary to keep employees conscientious when it comes to interactions with online ads and emails, as they can be malicious in nature – something taught via Security Awareness Training.


The world's largest library of security awareness training content is now just a click away!

In your fight against phishing and social engineering you can now deploy the best-in-class simulated phishing platform combined with the world's largest library of security awareness training content; including 1000+ interactive modules, videos, games, posters and newsletters.

You can now get access to our new ModStore Preview Portal to see our full library of security awareness content; you can browse, search by title, category, language or content topics.

ModStore01-1The ModStore Preview includes:

  • Interactive training modules
  • Videos
  • Trivia Games
  • Posters and Artwork
  • Newsletters and more!

Start Your Preview

PS: Don't like to click on redirected buttons? Cut & Paste this link in your browser:

https://www.knowbe4.com/training-preview



Subscribe to Our Blog


Comprehensive Anti-Phishing Guide




Get the latest about social engineering

Subscribe to CyberheistNews