CROOKS are cashing in on the cost-of-living crisis by scamming consumers trying to beat the financial squeeze.
Cases of fraud jumped 36 per cent to 5.1million in the year to September 2021, says the Office for National Statistics.
Criminals are exploiting the financial pressure on people by luring them in with dodgy discounts and bogus job offers, and preying on Covid worries.
The better news is that web firms and social media could soon face fines of up to £18million for failing to spot and remove scam adverts.
The new rules are part of the Online Safety Bill, which is expected to come into force later this year.
Today Lucy Alderson and Leah Milner look at five serious scams . . . and explain how to guard against them.
Fake jobs
WHAT’S THE SCAM? Crooks post adverts on social media offering easy ways to earn cash in a bid to snare anyone desperate for extra money.
They pose as marketing companies that will pay you for simple tasks such as liking posts or watching videos.
You are asked to pay a deposit and told you will make your money back and much more. But you don’t earn a thing and the criminals steal your cash.
TSB said that, in one recent scam, victims were asked to sign up to an app called Pinterest Task Mall, which was made to look like the real social media app, but in reality it was a sham.
Victims were asked to make a series of deposits of £100…
