‘Scamvent’ calendar highlights common frauds over Christmas

NatWest is making a “scamvent” calendar available in selected branches to highlight the common purchases at risk of being fraudulent.

The calendar will be available in limited numbers from the end of November and is part of a campaign to warn people of the dangers of purchase scams.

It contains chocolates while also highlighting common scams over Christmas.

Bogus adverts for phones, tickets and gift cards are among the scams being highlighted by the bank.

A survey commissioned by NatWest indicated nearly half (46%) of people are more vigilant about scams during the festive shopping period.

Fake offers of cut-price laptops, counterfeit clothing and poor quality or fake jewellery and watches with false claims of authenticity could catch shoppers out, the bank warned.

Fraudsters may also offer sought-after games which are counterfeit, different from advertised or do not exist.

“Luxury” handbags and trainers which turn out to be counterfeit may also be offered on social media, online marketplaces or bogus websites.

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.”

Meanwhile, Nationwide Building Society warned shoppers to be on their guard against “card not present” fraud, which relates to remote purchases of goods.

The society has predicted that Black Friday on November 29 will be its busiest day ever, with a 9% increase in transactions expected, compared with last year.

It expects to see 10.6 million payments made, compared with 9.7 million in 2023.

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.

It said 83% of fraud uncovered in the last three months of 2023 was categorised as identity fraud – which happens when someone steals personal information and uses it for their own financial gain, such as taking out a credit card or loan.

Experian’s figures were taken from National Hunter, which prevents fraud for the finance industry.

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