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A major bank is warning people to watch out for fraudsters over the festive period, with nearly £2 million having been reported lost to bank transfer scams between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day last year by its customers.
Santander UK said £1,999,444 was reported as lost to authorised push payment (APP) scams between December 25 2023 and January 1 2024.
The total includes an individual loss of more than £600,000 as part of an investment scam – the biggest amount lost by a customer of the bank in 2023.
Scammers may see the Christmas holidays as the perfect opportunity to strike, when some people are being distracted by festive activities.
Fraudsters may try to lure people looking to snap up bargains in the Christmas sales or purchase concert tickets for the year ahead.
On Christmas Day last year, reports of online scams included clothes purchased on Instagram, as well as football and Taylor Swift tickets purchased on Facebook Marketplace.
Impersonation scams may also catch people out when they are spending time relaxing at home over the holidays.
On Boxing Day, several claims were made from customers who were contacted by scammers pretending to be their bank.
And scammers did not take New Year’s Day off either as 2024 got under way, with customers reporting several advance fee scams, including a £1,700 payment made with the intention of securing a job offer with a “recruiter” via WhatsApp.
Santander data covering December 25 2023 to January 1 2024 shows that 596 scams were reported by the bank’s retail and business customers.
– On Christmas Day itself, customers contacted the bank about 10 scams, worth £3,971.
– On Boxing Day, 25 scams were disclosed, costing £45,788.
– On New Year’s Day, 24 scams were reported, totalling £7,004.
Santander UK’s behavioural scientist Pete Staffel said: “Online adverts are the prime place for finding that dream present – I even found one the other day, a perfect family game, complete with a video showing how it all worked. My kids would love it, and only two left in stock. But just before clicking buy, I checked the reviews, it was a scam.
“Don’t let the build up to Christmas cloud your senses. Scammers don’t take the holiday season off, and whether it’s through ‘buy it now’ ads, impersonating your bank, or offering a too-good-to-be- true investment, they will be looking for ways to be the Grinch that steals more than your Christmas.”