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Scams

Scams are fraudulent schemes with the aim of duping people into parting with personal details and/or money. Here are some of the latest scams to look out for

What to do if you've been scammed on Facebook Marketplace – and how to get money back
Exclusives
Lots of people use Facebook Marketplace these days as it's an easy way to buy and sell goods. The only issue is, as popularity rises, more people are falling victim to pesky scammers
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TikTok star faked cancer by posing with feeding tube and going on podcast in £30,000 con
Scams
Madison Russo told her TikTok followers she had pancreatic cancer, leukaemia and a football-sized tumour wrapped around her spine — but the student was faking it all
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NatWest top tips to help protect against scams and fraud
Scams
The banking company is encouraging Brits to always be honest with their banks about payments - and never to answer unsolicited calls, texts, or messages
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Woman convinced she was flirting with celebrity chef conned of £5k in cruel love scam
Scams
Police have since warned those with online dating profiles to be on high alert of conmen posing as celebrities after multiple women found themselves conned out of thousands of pounds
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'I bought £7 visa in a rush but was stung by £150 charge – don't make my mistake'
Travel Advice
Denis Mann claims he was 'scammed' by an online travel website that signed him up to pay £73 every three months when all he needed was one £7 ETA visa for Canada
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Romance scam victims have parted with over £2,000 - after being lured in by sweet-talk
Scams
The most common phrases lonely love-seekers have fallen for from their scammers include “I've fallen for u” and “U know me”, according to research
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British adults want to keep their elderly parents safe - but not strip them of independence
Family
Seven in ten adults admit to worrying about their ageing parents as often as 10 times a week - with health issues and falls or injuries among their top concerns
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ChatGPT is helping fraudsters be more romantic and scam dating app victims
Artificial Intelligence
Heartbroken folk suffering after the death of a loved one or a break-up are among the key groups of people thought to be being targeted by cruel CryptoRom scams
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Brits warned to stop taking photos of their boarding passes at the airport
Travel Advice
Thieves could use the information on your boarding pass to access airline accounts, cancel flights, steal identities and even access your credit or debit card accounts
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Lad who stripped for woman who was really 'Moroccan sextorter' issues blackmail warning
Exclusives
EXCLUSIVE: A young man who had gone onto an online chatroom to have a bit of fun but found himself at the centre of a brutal 'sextorition' plot with a man based in Morocco has now shared his harrowing tale four years on
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Heartless woman mocked Holocaust survivor after conning £2.2m in romance scam
Courts
Evil scammer Peaches Stergo mocked her victim after she had bled him dry financially over the course of several years, but now she’s set to spend time in prison
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Brits have been left £1,150 out of pocket - after falling victim to a rogue tradesperson
Property
More than a fifth of those on the property ladder have been caught out by such a scam - with Newcastle and London the top cities where this happens
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Mum-of-three scammed out of life savings by man she matched with on Tinder
Scams
Rebecca Holloway lost her entire life savings after being conned on the dating web site by a man she believed was a French entrepreneur called Fred, living in Philadelphia
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Your password can be cracked in 3 seconds - here's what you need to do to stay protected
Technology
Millions of people are falling into the same traps when it comes to passwords - it might be easy to remember but hackers can crack your login in three seconds if you don't make changes
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Scammers can turn your profile picture into deepfake porn and blackmail you, FBI warns
Scams
Social media users are being urged to check their privacy settings - as the FBI has warned that criminals could be turning your profile pictures into deepfake porn to blackmail you
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Warning for millions of Chrome users to check their browser now for dodgy add-on apps
Google
Google has just deleted 32 'malicious' add-ons from its Chrome web browser that more than 75 million people have downloaded - but you could still have them installed on your computer
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Fuming tourists 'charged £32 for beer' at restaurant – and TripAdvisor issues warning
TripAdvisor
DK Oyster, on the island of Mykonos in Greece, has come under fire on TripAdvisor for charging tourists £50 for cocktails, £31 for beer and hundreds for meals leaving Brits gobsmacked
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Over a quarter of Brits would like to see 'much longer' sentences for white-collar crimes
Crime
Three in ten have noticed a rise in white-collar crimes in the last 12 months - but 14% admit they wouldn't bother reporting such fraudulent activity
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Warning for TV viewers as set-top boxes could be spying on you in your own home
Scams
If you use a cheap Android TV box you'd better be careful - cybersecurity researchers have discovered that dirt-cheap set-top boxes are being sold to customers preloaded with viruses
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Woman says she was victim of 'pig butchering' dating scam - and lost £360k
Scams
Shreya Datta said a cryptocurrency investment scheme drained her bank account of the huge sum after she fell for a new dating scam trend, known as 'pig butchering'
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AI-powered bots 'taking over Internet' and mimicking human behaviour
Technology
Automated bots made up almost half of all traffic on the Internet last year, according to a new study with many of them mimicking human behaviour to spread spam, scams, and viruses
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Warning for anyone who visits adult sites as hackers target users with convincing scam
Scams
Windows users have been issued with a dire warning about using adult websites - as hackers are tricking people into installing viruses on their computer using fake pop-up windows
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Over a fifth of Brits say doorstep scams have risen in their area in the last year
Scams
Belfast, Edinburgh, and Brighton are the top cities where residents have been targeted by door-to-door scammers since March 2022
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Delete these 11 popular apps now or your bank account could be drained, warns Google
Android
Android phone users are being urged to delete 11 banned apps from their phones after security experts discovered they're used to siphon cash from unsuspecting victims every month
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