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00:04Scams and fraud are now the UK's most common crimes.
00:08Over the last year, they cost us £2.4 billion.
00:12And 61% of Brits say they've been targeted by a scam at least once a month.
00:19I've got a really sick feeling that I've been scammed.
00:24Tonight, the scammers who steal your charity donations.
00:28But people were thinking, I like her content, I want to give to her funds.
00:32And it was going to scammers.
00:34And impersonate selfless campaigners.
00:37Here he is, dressed as Pudsey the Bear from Children in Need,
00:41collecting money for himself without caring who they hurt.
00:45I feel like I was in some kind of tunnel of grief.
00:49I'm only really coming out of it now.
00:51The good news is, it is possible to fight back if you know how.
00:55Usually, it's a young person's funeral that is targeted.
01:00I've even been able to clone myself.
01:02I've been able to phone people that are very close to me.
01:04Whether you're approached in the street...
01:06Would you want to scan this QR code to help endangered animals?
01:09Or on your phone...
01:10I need to pay £2,744 in total.
01:14We'll help ensure you don't donate your money to a scammer.
01:19Thank you, Alexis.
01:20No scammer is going to derail us from celebrating the life of somebody we love so dearly.
01:26We're going to arm you with the tips, the tricks and the techniques
01:30to spot the scammers coming and make sure that you don't get caught out.
01:42The charity sector in England and Wales alone is worth more than £90 billion a year.
01:48That's a target-rich environment for criminals to exploit, well, us, for being decent human beings.
01:55We had children there who had just lost their mother.
01:58And we had a husband who had just lost his wife.
02:00And to have this on top, it was almost overwhelming.
02:03I'll meet a young woman whose life is disrupted when scammers pretend to be her.
02:08So this is an account that you had nothing to do with.
02:11No, I didn't even know it existed.
02:14You didn't know it existed.
02:17And would you give money to a charity scammer in the street?
02:20So if she was standing there with a contactless thing, you would have touched?
02:23Yeah, yeah.
02:24Without doing any background work?
02:36Welcome to our Scam HQ.
02:39In this hub, we are trying to analyse and look at every single scam we can come across.
02:45It shows us what scammers are up to.
02:47How are they finding new ways to get hold of your cash?
02:51So stay tuned to make sure that you don't get caught out.
02:56One of the simplest things you can do to stop scams in their tracks is talking about them.
03:01And we're particularly grateful to the hundreds of you who've contacted us by email and WhatsApp to share your stories.
03:09In this series, we've encountered lots and lots of really good people.
03:13Nice people.
03:14People who go out of their way to help others, to give to charity.
03:18And I'm really sad to say that those are the kind of people that scammers absolutely love.
03:25And that's what Grace, a disability advocate from East London, found out when scammers cashed in on her good name.
03:4221-year-old Grace is an up-and-coming star on TikTok.
03:46She has more than 1.3 million followers who watch her videos about her daily life with cerebral palsy.
03:53Me? Sarcastic?
03:56Oh, no, I would never.
04:02Right, this is where the magic happens, in the TikTok studio, also your bedroom.
04:09Yes.
04:09What have you got in mind? What makes a good TikTok video?
04:12Even like a cliffhanger.
04:15A cliffhanger?
04:16Yeah, or something funny.
04:20Grace tries to post a new video every single day.
04:23Today, she'll be doing a popular activity on TikTok.
04:26I know something you don't.
04:30I know something you will never know.
04:32Creatively lip syncing to the audio from someone else's post.
04:36I know something you will never know.
04:38And turning it into a witty commentary about her own life.
04:42I know something you will never know.
04:44I know something you will never know.
04:46Well, I don't really know.
04:47I know something you will never know.
04:50At any rate, she's roped me in to help.
04:53We've got the light.
04:54And then, for start, count down.
04:57Start, count down.
04:58Three, two, one.
05:01I know something you don't.
05:04I know something you will never know.
05:08Did we do it?
05:09Yeah.
05:10It's starting again.
05:11Okay, we've done it.
05:12So, how long does it take you to do a TikTok video?
05:15About two hours, depending on what editing it involves.
05:22It's a lot of work.
05:24But that work has raised at least £6,000 for charity.
05:28It also makes money for Grace.
05:30Her videos have become so popular that TikTok now pays her for posts that do well on the platform.
05:38Her first post of this mishap at the gym racked up more than 10 million views.
05:45I thought this is my sign to start educating people on my disability.
05:55Start raising awareness with terrible quality.
06:01And then, within a year, I got half a million rollovers.
06:07And then I hit one million.
06:10It's amazing.
06:13Grace has a presence on various platforms, with the notable exception of Facebook.
06:18Because, well, it's just not what the kids do.
06:21But her absence from the world's most popular social media site left an opening for a scammer,
06:27who created an account in Grace's name.
06:31When was the first time you found out that someone was actually using your content to scam people?
06:38That account was in action.
06:41Two years before I found out.
06:45So this is an account that you had nothing to do with.
06:49No.
06:49But this account was pretending to be you.
06:52Yeah.
06:53All the content that you were making for TikTok,
06:56Yeah.
06:57They were using that on the Facebook account.
07:01This has become a common tactic for scammers.
07:05Steal the content of someone popular and use that to bait more victims.
07:10How did you find out about the page?
07:13Oh, I just Googled myself.
07:15Oh, you were Googling yourself, were you?
07:18You went, hang on a minute, I don't have a Facebook.
07:19Yeah.
07:20I don't have a Facebook page.
07:21So when you found out about the Facebook page, did you contact Meta?
07:26Oh, yeah.
07:28I reported it, like, up to 20 times a day, and I never got a response.
07:38No response?
07:39No.
07:40Unfortunately, the scammers' tactics worked.
07:44Grace's stolen posts on Facebook received an outpouring of love and sympathy
07:48from compassionate people.
07:50And that's where the real scam began.
07:53And then they signed up to create a fund.
07:58A fund?
07:59Yeah.
08:00So that is where people can send them gifts.
08:07Right.
08:08Like money.
08:09So people...
08:09But I'm not getting them money.
08:11No, no, no, because this isn't your page.
08:12Yeah.
08:13But people were thinking, I like her content, I want to give to her fund.
08:17Yeah.
08:17And it was going to scammers.
08:19Yeah.
08:19Do you know how much money they took?
08:21No.
08:22I wish I did.
08:24I found out they're in America.
08:28They're in the U.S.?
08:29Yes.
08:29We should also mention that you're owning a living through TikTok.
08:32That's my full-time job.
08:34So when this whole thing happened, did it affect your job?
08:38I stopped posting for three months.
08:43Grace realised that all of her content was being stolen by the scammers.
08:48So the only way to stop them was to stop making content for them to steal.
08:53But that came at a cost.
08:55So how much money did you lose out?
08:59Around a couple of thousand.
09:01A couple of thousand pounds?
09:02Yeah.
09:02It was a lot of money.
09:03Yeah.
09:05Worse, because Grace stopped posting, her popularity on TikTok declined.
09:10So when she started up again, her posts had fewer views.
09:14And that means they earn less money for her and the good causes she supports.
09:19From what I understand, if you stop posting for three months...
09:23It drops.
09:24It drops.
09:25And then I've got to start...
09:27You've got to build it all back up again.
09:29And I'm still building it up.
09:31You're still building it up.
09:32Yeah.
09:33Scammers are already doing tremendous damage to campaigners like Grace and the charities they support.
09:39Just by simply copying and pasting their content.
09:42I know something you will never know.
09:48But now there's a devious new way to impersonate charities and the celebrities who help them.
09:55The biggest problem we have is identifying who's on the other end of that email, that voice call, or that
10:01text message.
10:02But things are about to get a little trickier.
10:05Why?
10:06Artificial intelligence.
10:07For instance, AI tools available to scammers nowadays mean that they can send very convincing messages to try and gain
10:15our trust.
10:21But just how easy is it to create a convincing AI deepfake video?
10:26Well, one person who should know is tech expert Jake Moore from the global digital security firm ESET.
10:32You've been looking into this, and would you say that we have hit the point now where things are becoming
10:41really difficult to distinguish between the fake stuff and the real stuff?
10:46Absolutely. So AI, it's able to take someone's face, someone's voice, and it can recreate it to make it look
10:53like that person has said or has done anything.
10:56So I've even been able to clone myself. I've been able to fool people that are very close to me.
11:00Even my mum couldn't tell the difference.
11:02So we want to try something.
11:04Okay.
11:04Because we want to kind of show how good this technology is and actually how easy it is. So you've
11:11offered to do something terrible to me.
11:13Well, you've offered to clone me.
11:17Yeah.
11:17So what are you going to need?
11:19I could just go to YouTube and collect some footage of you. I mean, you're out there. That would be
11:24rather easy to do. But I thought, why not show it from the very start?
11:27If I could film you for just a couple of minutes, I should then be able to use that footage
11:33and manipulate it into saying anything that I want it to say.
11:37That's all you need? Two minutes of me just talking?
11:39Yeah.
11:40Babbling on?
11:40Yeah.
11:41I can do that.
11:44So if you're ready, I'll click record in three, two.
11:48So the first time I met Jake.
11:56So those are the kind of things that Jake and I speak about. But I can't wait to see what
12:00he's going to do with my face now.
12:02Brilliant.
12:03There we go.
12:03You really can talk, can't you?
12:05I do can.
12:05Before I can finish my next sentence, Jake has the footage uploaded onto a website that can create realistic computer
12:13generated videos.
12:14We're going to submit that.
12:16And now your video is uploading.
12:18Great.
12:18I'm so excited to see what you're going to make me do and say.
12:25Coming up, Jake unveils a Lexus 2.0.
12:29That's scary.
12:31I said none of those things.
12:33But first, here's a quiz for you.
12:37What percentage of charities were victims of fraud in 2024?
12:41Was it 26%, 42%, or a whopping 84%?
12:46Find out the answer after the break.
12:57Before the break, I asked you what percentage of charities were victims of fraud in 2024.
13:02And the answer is 42%.
13:11Tech expert Jake Moore has gone away and produced an AI-generated deepfake video of me.
13:19He's now brought his handiwork to Scam HQ.
13:23Show me what you've been doing.
13:24Let's have a look.
13:26Hey, everyone.
13:27If you know me, you know I love a bit of magic and digging into the world of scams.
13:31And today, I have a little announcement for you.
13:33So I'm officially joining TikTok.
13:35I've read your comments on social media for me to get on this app.
13:38If you want to get wiser to classic cons, or just want to pick up a few of my favorite
13:41moves,
13:42follow me on TikTok.
13:44So, you're joining TikTok?
13:47That's scary.
13:48I said none of those things.
13:51None of those things came out of my mouth.
13:53Is there...
13:53Let me just pause it there.
13:55What's amazing about this is that it has my mannerisms, my hand movements, my shoulders going up.
14:02Yeah.
14:02So, basically, the software has only really played around with your mouth movements.
14:09Right.
14:09So, all those movements of your shoulders and your head, that was in the original video that you did for
14:15me.
14:15How long did this process take?
14:18All in all, I'd say about an hour.
14:20But if I were to do it again, now I've created the template for you, the next one that I
14:26could make would be slim right down just to about a minute or two.
14:30Do you need any skills at all to do this?
14:33Not really.
14:36Now, I know what you're thinking.
14:37Jake could have made that video of me when our cameras weren't rolling and this whole thing is actually a
14:43fake.
14:44Well, he made a second version too.
14:47Hello, if you know me, you'll know that I like a little bit of a deep research film.
14:52Today, I have a small report to tell you.
14:54So, I'm just joined TikTok.
14:56I saw you on the social media.
14:58You made me use this application.
15:00So, I'm here.
15:01All I caught there was TikTok.
15:04Was that Mandarin?
15:06Yeah.
15:06Was it?
15:07That's incredible.
15:09Yeah.
15:10So, that's the same script as before.
15:12But just in Mandarin?
15:13Yeah.
15:14So, what are we saying to people?
15:18Is it, don't believe your eyes and ears anymore?
15:22You know, we've just got to start questioning things.
15:25It's when something happens like an instruction to give information away or to move money.
15:31That's when we should really be taking a step back and thinking, why should they be doing this?
15:36And let's verify as much as we can.
15:38So, this could say, hi, I'm Alexis Conran.
15:41I've discovered a wonderful cryptocurrency that is guaranteed to triple your money.
15:46Click on this link below and I promise you that you're going to be making thousands of pounds a week
15:51every week.
15:52That's the problem.
15:53That's what happens.
15:54Yeah.
15:54This has happened many times before and people will and do fall for this.
15:59Yeah.
15:59You have to start using your gut instinct to say, hang on, is this likely?
16:05I think you've hit the nail on the head there.
16:07Go with your gut instinct.
16:12Now, when I heard about this next scam, I was lost for words.
16:25I am used to scammers targeting the most vulnerable and weakest in our society.
16:31But this, this is just on another level.
16:34As Connor from Lisbon in Northern Ireland discovered, scammers now target charity donations made by grieving families in the midst
16:43of funerals.
16:54My sister was kind of part mother and was very supportive of me growing up.
16:58I stayed with her, spent a lot of time with her.
17:00And then I guess as I grew up with lots of kind of great nights out, celebrations, went to parties
17:05together.
17:06We also fought like cat and dog.
17:07So, it was a multifaceted relationship.
17:09She was diagnosed in August of 23 with stage 4 bladder cancer.
17:16And I guess we knew then that, unfortunately, there wasn't going to be a cure.
17:23She became very unwell pretty, pretty quickly.
17:27It was a kind of downward spiral.
17:28So, all in all, she had six weeks from diagnosis to the day she died.
17:34Vicky was 44 years old.
17:36As well as Connor, she left behind her husband, Robert, and their two young children.
17:44On the day she died, the family turned to David Jess at Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors.
17:50So, here we are.
17:52This is the room that we hold the funeral service.
17:54Here at the front is where the coffin rests.
17:57As with most aspects of life these days, the internet forms an integral part of the funeral arrangements.
18:03This is a bit that no one really ever gets to see.
18:05This is what happens behind the scenes.
18:08Services can even be live-streamed for family and friends who can't make it in person.
18:13David said to me, he said, look, this will go on social media, the funeral times.
18:17I said, great.
18:18You know, the more people that will know, the better.
18:22And I remember collapsing, basically, in bed that night, absolutely exhausted.
18:27Unfortunately, it wasn't just friends and family who found out about Vicky's funeral.
18:32Early the next morning, I had come into work and, as you do, turn on the computer and then have
18:39a look at the social media.
18:40So, as I scrolled through the comments, there was a number made by this person acting as the husband of
18:46the deceased, asking for help with financial expenses.
18:49So, these messages, they were just slotted in around other genuine sympathy messages.
18:57Scammers often find targets via social media posts, like funeral notices.
19:03Taking advantage of Vicky's generous friends and family, they went begging for fraudulent charitable donations.
19:10David reached out to Connor to break the news.
19:13He said, look, I have some bad news.
19:16Somebody has been impersonating Robert.
19:18I assume this isn't Robert in terms of asking for these donations.
19:22You know, I could categorically say, absolutely not.
19:25David deleted all the fake charity posts, but that was just the scammer's opening act.
19:31Just a day or so before the service, we became aware that friends of the deceased were being contacted with
19:38a fake Facebook page.
19:41And that contained a link to a live stream service.
19:45Attached to that live stream link was a comment that was requesting a payment for the live stream.
19:51And that's something that, you know, that we don't do.
19:54A link is provided free of charge.
19:59There was a level of embarrassment, actually.
20:01I was embarrassed to say to people that this is what somebody has done, you know, trying to use my
20:07family's kind of heartache as their springboard to do this scam.
20:13A short time before the service, that fake profile seemed to change a little bit.
20:19It was saying that the live stream was now free to view.
20:23But while family and friends were waiting on the service commencing, they could enter their bank details, their car details,
20:33and make a donation to the family's nominated charity.
20:37Of course, the family's preferred charity, Northern Ireland Hospice, didn't see a penny of the donations made via that link.
20:45That money went straight to the scammers.
20:48If I was in this situation, I might have donated £10, £20 to a charity, thinking it was going to
20:55be a good cause.
20:56Or, you know, if I thought that I needed to pay a fee to watch a live stream, I might
21:01have done that.
21:19I might have done that.
21:32There's one other disturbing trend here.
21:34Usually, it's a young person's funeral that is targeted with a family that is very much familiar with social media,
21:43and therefore, there's a lot of online activity.
21:46And that gives the scammer a lot of substance to work with, and the fake profiles just seem to be
21:52there indefinitely now.
21:53We've seen them as much as maybe ten or a dozen times, and each one has been stolen from the
21:59family's own genuine page.
22:02Despite doing all they could to warn loved ones and shut the scam down, no one is sure about how
22:08much money the scammers got away with.
22:10I was livid that this was, A, allowed to take place, and B, was taking place.
22:16And then I felt completely deflated that this is one of the most difficult times of my life in terms
22:22of what we were trying to deal with.
22:23You know, we had children there who had just lost their mother, and we had a husband who had just
22:27lost his wife.
22:27We had family members devastated, and to have this on top, it was almost overwhelming.
22:33But we were resolute as family and friends that no scammer was going to derail us from celebrating the life
22:40of somebody we love so dearly.
22:44Coming up, the scammers taking advantage of a mother's charity for her own kids.
22:49She's going to me, I've lent you money, and I'm like, you've lent me nothing, I don't know what you're
22:55going on about.
22:55But first, do you know the answer to this one?
22:59How much money did scammers divert from charities in 2023?
23:04Is it 2.7 million, 10.4 million, or 1.4 million?
23:09Find out after the break.
23:19Before the break, I asked you how much money did scammers divert from charities in 2023?
23:25And the answer is 2.7 million pounds.
23:30Now, in this episode, we've been focusing on scammers taking advantage of people online for their generosity.
23:37But don't forget, a lot of these scams actually happen face-to-face.
23:42So what would you do if you were approached by someone in the street asking to collect for charity?
23:55Hi, sir.
23:57Just for a minute to help.
23:58Hi.
23:58Would you want to scan this QR code to help endangered animals?
24:03Scammers love nothing more than preying on the kindness of others.
24:07Very often, their scams are dressed up as charities.
24:11And this is what we're going to put to the test today.
24:13Our two intrepid volunteers look a bit like charity collectors.
24:18Angelica is dressed as a stereotypical high street fundraiser,
24:23hiver's jacket, a lanyard, and a clipboard.
24:26Charlie is wearing, well, a dinosaur costume.
24:29But they are deliberately not referring to any specific charity,
24:33or even using the word charity.
24:36In short, they could be anybody.
24:39All they have is a vague message asking for support.
24:43And that popular scammers tool, a QR code.
24:50If you do scan that QR code, you're going to get this message.
24:54Now, no money is going to change hands,
24:56but we just want to see how easy it is for scammers
24:58to get their hands on your money in the middle of a busy street.
25:05The initial hit rate is...
25:07Hiya, just a minute.
25:10...low.
25:11Hi, would you two have a moment to scan this QR code
25:14to stop animal extinction?
25:15No, you're great. No problem.
25:17Would you have a moment to just scan this...
25:20No.
25:22But even though people have absolutely no idea
25:25where their so-called donations will go,
25:28they start scanning.
25:30Let's go speak to this lady now.
25:32Hiya, what's your name?
25:34I'm Jo.
25:35Do you scan quite a lot of QR codes?
25:36I do scan quite a lot of QR codes.
25:38Do you worry at all about where they might be taking...
25:40Well, actually, kind of, sometimes I'm a bit like,
25:41hmm, where's the data?
25:42But also, at the same time, I'm a bit, like, naive.
25:46So if the website was,
25:48we support families in need, please donate £5,
25:51would you have put your details in there?
25:52Sometimes, yeah.
25:53Yeah, I do get a bit stopped at the station sometimes,
25:56and, like, if I'm in a mood, I'm like, okay...
25:57Oh, but Jo, can you do me a favour?
25:58Yes.
25:59From today, you need to do, like, checks,
26:01to who you're giving.
26:02Yeah.
26:03Deal?
26:04Thank you, Lexis.
26:05I used to work a job kind of similar to this for a bit,
26:07so then, obviously, when I see people outside
26:08doing the same thing, I'll try to support them.
26:10Would you have donated money on the website,
26:13put your personal details in?
26:15To be honest.
26:16Mm.
26:17Maybe, like, if it was contactless or by cash,
26:19I might have done it.
26:20Okay, so if she was standing there
26:21with a contactless thing, you would have touched...
26:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:24Without doing any background work,
26:26if she was the real thing?
26:28No, I don't have enough time to do that.
26:30Oh!
26:31You've got to!
26:32Yeah.
26:33You've got to!
26:34Well, this will make me worry for next time.
26:39So far, people seem more willing to trust
26:41a random person in a high-vis jacket
26:44than a dinosaur.
26:46Aw.
26:46But just when poor Charlie looks in danger of extinction,
26:49she scores.
26:51My name is Alex.
26:52What's your name?
26:53Robert.
26:53Tell me what just happened.
26:55Um, well, the, uh, crocodile or whatever
26:57came up to me...
26:58Dinosaur, Robert.
26:59Dinosaur.
27:00I mean, come on.
27:00Look at the effort.
27:01If you landed on the website
27:04and it said for five pounds
27:06you could help protect a rhino
27:07and its baby for a month,
27:10would you have entered your details in to help?
27:13Possibly.
27:14Depends how convinced I am.
27:15Right, so if the website looked convinced in...
27:21Well, it will, like, give you some information
27:23about the cause.
27:25So we've only been here less than an hour
27:27and we've had quite a few people
27:28scan those QR codes.
27:30Now, these QR codes can take you onto any website.
27:34Those websites can be very, very convincing.
27:36And even if they just ask you to register your interest
27:39by putting in your name and your address,
27:41that data is useful to someone somewhere
27:45and you shouldn't be giving it away
27:46to just anybody standing in the street
27:49holding a QR code.
27:58Now, you may think our stunt was a little bit far-fetched,
28:01but we got the idea from this guy.
28:04Meet David Levi from Lytham in Lancashire.
28:08For five years, he led a gang of scam charity collectors.
28:13Here he is, dressed as Pudsey the Bear
28:16from Children in Need, collecting money for himself.
28:20Now, the good news is that in December 2023,
28:23he was sent to prison for five years
28:26and some of his accomplices also faced jail time.
28:29So the thing you need to remember is
28:31if you're approached online or in real life
28:34by anyone claiming to collect for charity,
28:37you need to stop and think, is this a scam?
28:45When someone approaches you in the street
28:47asking for money and donations for charity,
28:50they need to be clearly identifiable
28:52as the charity that they're asking money for.
28:56So are they wearing a tabard or a jacket or a shirt,
28:59something with the charity's logo clearly visible?
29:03As well as displaying the charity's name or logo,
29:06genuine fundraisers must also wear an ID card
29:09with their name and the charity's details.
29:13Now, let's say you see all that,
29:14you want to donate, but you're just not quite sure.
29:17Get your phone out and open your browser.
29:20Type in search charity register.
29:23First hit you're going to get is the government website.
29:26And in here, you can search the charity
29:29that you're being asked to donate.
29:31Now, make sure you enter the exact name
29:33that you are being given on the street.
29:36So let's say, for example, I am going to be RSPCA.
29:43Let's see what we get, 188 matches.
29:45So for example, here we go, RSPCA Devon branch.
29:48What's really important is right here, contact information.
29:51If you click that, then it takes you to the website.
29:54So go to their actual website, which is right here,
29:58and donate to the website.
29:59That way, you can make sure your money gets to the right people
30:03and you can have peace of mind.
30:09In 2023, three quarters of us were giving
30:13to some sort of charity, amounting to 14 billion pounds
30:18given to charities across the country and across the world.
30:22Now, they say that charity begins at home,
30:24and that number doesn't even begin to describe
30:26the generosity shown amongst friends and family.
30:32That's what Maureen from Liverpool discovered.
30:35Scammers are more than willing to take advantage
30:38of the charity parent show to their children.
30:47They asked me to transfer money to them.
30:51These days, Maureen lives alone with her rescue pug, Benji,
30:54and her two cats, Mimi and Oscar.
30:57That's a good point.
30:58Her constant companions in life.
31:00But family is very important to her,
31:03as I found out when I paid her a visit.
31:07Hi, Maureen.
31:08Hi, how are you?
31:09Thank you so much.
31:13OK, let's meet the family.
31:15That was my husband, George, and me.
31:18That's right by the Sydney Opera House.
31:21Yes, the Opera House.
31:22How long ago were you there?
31:23That was in 2015.
31:26George died in 2021,
31:29and sadly, Maureen rarely sees her two daughters.
31:33One lives in Australia, the other in Canada.
31:37This is Jenny, and this is in Newfoundland.
31:40It was freezing cold.
31:42And that's you in Canada?
31:43That's in Halifax in Nova Scotia.
31:46And this is where Jenny lives now?
31:47This is where Jenny lives now.
31:49Oh, lovely.
31:50Great family photos.
31:51I love these.
31:53Although they're far away,
31:56Maureen is in constant contact with her girls,
31:58mostly via WhatsApp.
32:00In early 2022,
32:03she got a message that seemed to be from her daughter Jenny.
32:07She went back just before the new year,
32:10but she told me she was going to buy a laptop
32:13when she went back in the sales.
32:16The next thing is,
32:17I get a message on the 30th of January
32:21to say that she'd got a new phone
32:25and this would be her new number.
32:27But a picture came up of Jenny with a husband.
32:31Right.
32:32On what that...
32:33But it was her?
32:33You recognised her?
32:35Yeah, it was Jenny with a husband.
32:37That photo suggests this was not a random attack.
32:41The scammers were searching for a good target,
32:43and Maureen,
32:44recently bereaved with two daughters abroad,
32:47fit the bill.
32:49They gathered as much information as they could
32:52from the internet about Jenny,
32:53including that photo.
32:55And they made their move.
32:57She wanted me to do her a favour.
33:01Could I transfer some money to an account?
33:04And she said,
33:05could I transfer the money to this man's name?
33:08Yeah.
33:09Cos she owed the money to him.
33:10And it was $1,800 and something.
33:13But to be honest,
33:14it wasn't unusual for her
33:16to ask me for a loan occasionally.
33:18And so, for me,
33:20it seemed like she was just asking me
33:23for this money to be transferred
33:25cos she'd bought what I thought she was going to buy,
33:28which was a laptop.
33:30Scammers know it's hard to say no to our kids.
33:34Despite the clear red flags,
33:36Maureen found justification in her own mind
33:39for sending the money.
33:42So, she did.
33:44And so the scammers asked for more.
33:47And then the next thing is,
33:49she said,
33:50would you be able to do this transfer as well?
33:52And that was for $1,400 or something.
33:56I think it's important now
33:57for people watching this
33:59to know that at that time
34:02it was a very difficult time for you.
34:05Yeah.
34:05It was just two months
34:07after I buried my husband.
34:08I hadn't even paid for his funeral and things.
34:12And I was just sitting here on my own
34:14in the house,
34:15missing my husband,
34:17missing my children.
34:18I feel like I was in some kind of tunnel of grief.
34:22I'm only really coming out of it now.
34:24After a sleepless night
34:26fretting over how she would pay for George's funeral,
34:29Maureen messaged Jenny back about her worries.
34:32I felt really nervous about it
34:34and I even said to her about not having the money.
34:37It was money that,
34:38and I think I told her,
34:39it was for the funeral director.
34:41But instead of the so-called new number
34:44the scammers gave her,
34:45she accidentally used the number
34:47she already had for Jenny,
34:49which turned out to be a brilliant idea.
34:52So how did that conversation go?
34:54Hi, Jenny.
34:55Thanks so much for joining us.
34:57Nice to meet you.
34:58Nice to meet you.
34:59Jenny told us herself
35:01via a somewhat juddery video call from Canada.
35:04So it was like around half four in the morning
35:07and I got a text message saying,
35:09so when are you giving me this money back?
35:11And she's going to me,
35:12you've lent, I've lent your money.
35:13And I'm like, you've lent me nothing.
35:15I don't know what you're going on about.
35:17Then she was, she was going on about,
35:18you've got a new number.
35:20And I was like, I haven't got a new number.
35:22I just felt that she was,
35:26I don't know, playing a joke on me, first of all.
35:28Is that the kind of thing that Jenny would do?
35:30Kind of a joke around?
35:32Would she wind you up a bit?
35:33Oh, she would wind me up, yeah,
35:34about things sometimes.
35:37I am known to wind people up a bit.
35:40It's a traitor got from my dad.
35:42What's going through your head?
35:43When she said,
35:45I haven't borrowed any money from you.
35:47That's when it occurred to me
35:48that I had been scammed
35:50and I just went to pieces, to be honest.
35:52I'm going to have to get on a plane
35:53and come back home and see if I can help
35:56or, you know, do something
35:57because I felt like she was quite vulnerable
36:00sitting there by herself.
36:02How does it feel, actually, for you, Jenny?
36:04Because they actually pretended to be you.
36:07Not only that, but they also put a picture of you.
36:09It made me quite, like, vulnerable
36:11in the sense that someone could pretend to be me
36:14and scam my mum out of so much money.
36:18I remember, like, texting friends
36:20just saying, like, watch out.
36:22You know, my mum's been scammed using my identity.
36:26Just be cautious.
36:27Maureen also felt she had to be more careful
36:30from that point onwards.
36:32It made me really security conscious.
36:35You'll notice I've got a good security system
36:38in the house.
36:39I've got lights.
36:40I've got cameras.
36:42So I can see if anyone's about
36:44because it made me feel that I was almost getting attacked.
36:49Since this has happened,
36:51have you and Jenny made any arrangements, perhaps?
36:55Yeah, we've got a keyword that we say.
36:58Good.
36:58It's very good to hear, Maureen.
37:00That's what I like to hear.
37:01Yeah, we've got keywords.
37:02You'll know that if you ask each other
37:04what's the password,
37:06you'll be able to send it.
37:09Coming up,
37:10a fraudster tries the mum and dad scam
37:12on us.
37:14I need to pay £2,744 in total.
37:18What the f*** is going on?
37:23Before the break, a little quiz.
37:25Which of the following are illegal
37:27for genuine charity collectors?
37:29Standing in the door of a station?
37:32Approaching people sat on benches?
37:35Or following people down the street?
37:38Find out after the break.
37:49Before the break, I asked you
37:51which of these are illegal
37:52for genuine charity collectors?
37:54And the answer is all of them.
37:57Official fundraisers should never do
37:59any of these things.
38:01So if they do, walk away.
38:04In our quest to bring you
38:05the very latest scams,
38:07we have created these five
38:09what we call scam baiters.
38:11These are people who don't exist,
38:13but they have names,
38:14they have images created by AI,
38:16they have social media platforms.
38:18Most importantly,
38:19they have numbers and email addresses
38:21by which they can be contacted
38:23by scammers.
38:25Now, I want to draw your attention
38:26to Alex,
38:28because not so long ago,
38:29he received a message
38:31on his phone saying,
38:32hi, mum, I've changed my number.
38:36Now, firstly, Alex is a man,
38:38and also, he's not real.
38:41So we're pretty sure
38:41he doesn't have children.
38:43So we knew we were talking
38:44to a scammer,
38:45and we thought we'd have
38:46a little bit of fun.
38:47So I invite you to sit back,
38:49grab yourself some popcorn,
38:50and enjoy some scam amateur dramatics,
38:53or scam and dram.
39:02For your viewing pleasure,
39:04we will be reenacting,
39:06word for word,
39:08a genuine WhatsApp chat
39:09between our team
39:10and a scammer.
39:13I shall take on the role
39:14of the handsome young Alex,
39:16and playing the scammer
39:18in his television debut,
39:20Zach.
39:22Take it away.
39:23Hi, mum.
39:24Are you okay?
39:25About to get a new number.
39:27Oh, hi, hun.
39:28Everything okay?
39:29I've got a debt.
39:30I need to pay today,
39:31but I've blocked my accounts
39:32being an idiot.
39:33I'ma forgot my passwords.
39:35If I send you the details,
39:37can you pay it for me?
39:38I can pay you back.
39:40I don't understand.
39:42What debt?
39:43How much is it?
39:44I'll be honest,
39:45it's quite an awful lot.
39:46I need to pay
39:47£2,744 in total.
39:50What?
39:52F*** is going on?
39:54I know,
39:55I'm such an idiot
39:55for getting myself
39:56into such a situation.
39:58What situation?
40:00I borrowed the money
40:01a while ago
40:02for a friend
40:02when I was in a rough spot,
40:04which I know is stupid.
40:05I should have asked
40:06just for, you know,
40:07help.
40:08Who?
40:08Which friend of yours
40:10has got 2,000 quid
40:11knocking her out?
40:12Are we gonna go
40:13into all of this right now?
40:15Sad face emoji.
40:18Well, if you want my help,
40:20we bloody well are.
40:21For God's sake!
40:25You know I'm always there for you,
40:26but I'm quite angry just now.
40:30Now, I can't believe
40:31you got yourself
40:31in this situation.
40:32Who is this person
40:33you borrowed it from?
40:34How do I contact them?
40:36Hon,
40:37if I'm going to repay this debt,
40:39I need to know
40:39where their money is going.
40:41Now, at this point,
40:42we've got a whole bunch
40:43of details.
40:44We've got a name,
40:44we've got a sort code,
40:45an account number,
40:47a reference saying
40:48overdue 32,
40:50and the total amount
40:51was 2,744 pounds
40:54and zero pence.
40:56Of course,
40:57we never sent
40:58this scammer a penny,
40:59but before ending the chat,
41:01we had a little go
41:01at catching him out.
41:04OMG!
41:05I completely forgot to ask,
41:06which child are you?
41:08It's your first
41:09and favourite
41:10lull.
41:11Of course.
41:18There must be nothing worse than to discover
41:20that whilst you're trying to help a close family member,
41:23you're actually handing money over to a scammer.
41:26But there are things that you can do to protect yourself,
41:29and it only takes three simple steps.
41:37First up, we have ring.
41:40First thing to do, ring the number you have saved on your phone
41:44for that loved one.
41:46The scam can be dead in its tracks
41:48the moment they pick up the phone.
41:49You say, did you just change your number
41:51and send me a message about it?
41:52They go, no, that wasn't me.
41:54Scam's finished right there.
41:56So do not call the number that you were given.
41:59Call the number you've always used.
42:02Next up, we have details.
42:04Try and get something that only you and they
42:08would know or remember.
42:09Something like a name of a pet or a specific holiday.
42:13Something that you would both know about.
42:16Now, do also remember that if you're one of those oversharers on social media,
42:21that information might already be out there.
42:24So it is a very good idea to try and set up a password
42:27for you and your nearest and dearest.
42:30You would ask for the password.
42:31Scammer won't know it.
42:33Scam is dead in its tracks.
42:35And finally, bank.
42:38So this is very simple.
42:39If you're being asked to send money to an account
42:42you have never, ever used before,
42:44then stop and think.
42:46And I would say do not do so
42:48until you've spoken in person
42:50to your nearest and dearest.
43:02What became of the scam victims we featured in this episode?
43:07Maureen lost around £3,000
43:09when she thought she was sending money to her daughter
43:11to buy a new laptop over the mum and dad WhatsApp scam.
43:16Now, the good news is she got her money back from her bank
43:19and she's now set up a passphrase that her and her daughters use
43:24if they're ever in doubt that they are talking to each other.
43:28Grace, the lovely Grace, even though she wasn't out of pocket,
43:32she did lose out on income
43:34because she couldn't post content on her social media accounts.
43:38Now, the good news is that that fraudulent website
43:42asking people to donate to Grace has been taken down.
43:45We don't know how much money it generated,
43:47but hopefully it will remain down.
43:50And also the good news is that Grace is back online
43:52making her great content.
43:56As for Conor, though he didn't lose any money himself,
43:59he doesn't know how many people fell for the scam charity links
44:03set up in his sister's name.
44:05He sought help from both Meta and the police
44:08to trace the identity of the scammers,
44:10but so far, none have been identified.
44:14Have you been scammed?
44:16Do you have a tip for us?
44:18Then please go to channel5.com take part.
44:21That's channel5.com forward slash take dash part
44:26and get in touch.
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