As Black Friday approaches, HSBC has enlisted magician Troy von Scheibner to show Brits how fraudsters play mind games designed to gain victims' trust and pressure them into handing over personal information.
Purchase scams - where fraudsters trick shoppers into paying in advance for goods or services that are never received - are the most common form of APP fraud affecting HSBC customers, with 6,218 cases reported so far this year.
With Black Friday a lucrative time for fraudsters, HSBC sent von Scheibner onto the streets for a video designed to raise awareness by demonstrating that crooks use many of the same techniques as magicians.
David Callington, head, fraud, HSBC UK, says: ”Fraudsters can put consumers under their spell and make them think they are giving out personal or financial information for a legitimate reason. If a deal looks too good to be true - that’s because it probably is. Use secure payment methods and only buy from sites you trust."