Legendary actor Simon Callow has been roped in by NatWest to read some real-life Halloween horror stories about the dangers of fraud.
The Four Weddings and a Funeral star of narrates three tales rooted in real-life case studies of frightful frauds and scary scams:
- Twisted Fate details how fake cryptocurrency investment offerings can swindle individuals out of their earnings through false promises
- Romance is Dead is a deceptively alluring romance scam which highlights the modern risks of online dating.
- The Final Demand brings to life the horrors of an invoice redirection scam, showing how a small business owner is targeted by a fake “supplier” claiming their details have changed and that they require a new invoice.
NatWest is publishing the tales as a free downloadable PDF as a survey of 2000 adults shows that three quarters of Brits have been targeted by scammers, with an average of £350.50 stolen per victim.
The survey reveals that 85% of Brits are worried about falling victim to a scam and half believe they could do more to protect themselves from the dangers. As technology advances and scams become trickier to spot, 60% of Brits claim to have been approached by a scam on social media, and three quarters believe social media giants should do more to stop fraudulent activity happening on the platforms.
Says Callow: “It’s frightening how advanced scams have evolved to be. I find it increasingly difficult to stay savvy to the dangers, so it’s more important than ever that we as a nation continue to educate ourselves on the new types of scams emerging, so as not to be taken advantage of."
Download the spooky tales:
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