‘Scamvent’ calendar highlights common frauds over Christmas

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Stuart Skinner, a fraud expert from NatWest, said: “We all know that now is the time of year when a lot of us will be shopping; either for a Black Friday deal or getting ahead of our Christmas shopping list.” open image in gallery Consumers are being warned of scams when shopping online this Christmas Meanwhile, Nationwide Building Society warned shoppers to be on their guard against “card not present” fraud, which relates to remote purchases of goods. Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide, said: “While anyone subjected to ‘card not present’ fraud will generally be refunded, it’s extremely inconvenient and stressful, particularly around Christmas.” Credit information company Experian said the number of identity fraud cases being detected rose by 12.5% in the first six months of the year, when compared to the same period in 2023. Paul Weathersby, chief product officer, identity and fraud at Experian, said: “Personal information is readily available for purchase on the dark web and fraudsters are typically more active during these months, using a multi-channel approach to seduce people into giving up their information through emails, text messages and phone calls.” This week also marks BBC Scam Safe week, which started on November 23 and marks a week of programming. Here are the NatWest branches and postcodes where the ‘scamvent’ calendar will be available: Grand Central Birmingham, B2 4BF Bristol City Centre, BS1 3EU Leicester Granby Street, LE1 6EJ Milton Keynes, MK9 3BA Exeter High Street, EX4 3DL Croydon High Street, CR9 1PD Portsmouth Commercial Road, PO1 1EJ Victoria, SW1E 5NA Grimsby, DN31 1GA Manchester City Centre, M1 1WR Liverpool City, L1 3BG Sheffield City Centre, S1 2GE Leeds City Office, LS1 5HD Aberdeen Queens Cross, AB10 1YN Edinburgh West End Office, EH2 4EQ Belfast City Office, BT1 5HD