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British Celebrities Attend Scam Academy And Learn How Easy Financial Phone Fraud Is to Pull Off

Financial fraud can take many guises, be it a phishing email, a text message, or a phone call. We all like to think we wouldn't fall foul of one, but sometimes you're caught unawares. So perhaps it's time to do some homework and teach yourself how to avoid such fraud, which is where Scam Academy comes in.

It's not a real academy, of course, but it's a place where celebrities Carol Vorderman, Rufus Hound and Donna Air get schooled in the art of spotting a scammer. Which means you get schooled in spotting a scammer too.

Each celebrity is shown, by experts from the fraud sector—Alexis Conran (BBC’s Real Hustle), Scott McGready (tech consultant) and Tony Blake (Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit)—how to spot a phone scam, a fraudulent text, and a scam email.

Each scam is based on ones that might happen in real-life and the videos are part of a UK national campaign, Take Five, run by the Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK).

The campaign is aiming to highlight to consumers and businesses the methods—both emotional and technical—that fraudsters use to exact financial and personal details.

"Financial fraud is a serious matter. While banks and other financial service providers are working hard to protect their customers, consumers can also play an important part in protecting themselves and helping us to stop financial fraud." says Tony Blake, from the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit and Scam Academy lecturer. "“Through Scam Academy, we want to show how financial fraudsters often use simple techniques to trick people out of their personal details and money. By showing consumers how they could fall victim to common scams—such as email, phone and text—we hope to drive home the message that they can stop scammers in their tracks with one simple action: Take Five before you respond to any financial requests and share any personal or financial details.”

Check out the video for the Scam Academy phone scam above. Learn more at the Take Five website.

Learn about email scams below.

And see below for number spoofing, or text message scams.

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