Fraud and Scam Awareness

Be aware of advance fee fraud

Advance fee fraud is a common scam where fraudsters ask individuals to pay money upfront for goods, services, or financial opportunities that they have no intention of delivering. These scams can take many forms, but they often involve promises of easy money, lucrative job opportunities, or exclusive access to services.

One example of this type of fraud involves fake companies claiming to offer work-from-home opportunities or online review-writing jobs. These scammers often request an upfront payment, claiming it’s for registration, training, or access to a platform. Once the fee is paid, the fraudsters disappear, leaving victims out of pocket.

Recent examples of advance fee fraud

Several fraudulent websites and companies have been linked to this type of scam. These include:

• Very & Partner

• Veryworkbench

• Veryworkhub

• Very Retails

• Marletvery.vip

These examples highlight the importance of staying vigilant and verifying the legitimacy of any company or website before engaging with them.

How to protect yourself

To help avoid falling victim to advance fee fraud, follow these tips:

1. Research the company: Look up the company online to verify its legitimacy. Check for a professional website, office address, and reviews from other users.

2. Avoid clicking suspicious links: If you see a job advert on social media, type the company’s website address directly into your browser instead of clicking any links.

3. Never pay upfront fees: Legitimate employers should not ask for money before you start a job.

4. Verify contact information: If someone claims to represent a company, call back using a phone number you know to be genuine.

5. Trust your instincts: If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious and question anything that feels suspicious.

 

What to do if you’ve been targeted

If you believe you’ve been contacted by a fraudulent company or have fallen victim to advance fee fraud, report it immediately. You can contact Action Fraud via their website at https://reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 2040.

By staying informed and vigilant, you can protect yourself and others from falling victim to these scams. Always take the time to verify opportunities and never rush into paying upfront fees.

• Identity theft occurs when somebody obtains your personal details without your knowledge or consent, with the intent to obtain goods and/or services in your name. It is one of the fastest growing crimes in the UK and anyone is at risk.

• Check your statements carefully and report anything suspicious to the bank or financial service provider concerned.

• Be suspicious of any unexpected phone calls, text messages, emails or social media posts claiming to be from any organisation asking for personal information.

• There is useful information on our page to help stay ahead of these criminals and helpful links focused on staying safe.

• This type of fraud happens when a fraudster places an order to be delivered to your own address. Shortly after the item arrives, somebody dressed as a delivery company employee comes to your property and alludes that the parcel you received was delivered to you in error; then they ask you to hand it over.

• If you receive a delivery from a company you didn’t order from and the parcel is addressed to you, check with family/friends if they may have sent to you intentionally.

• If not, contact the company directly via telephone (using their official contact details, usually available online). Keep hold of the parcel until the company arranges for it to be collected.

• You may receive an email/text message that appears to be from a delivery company, such as Yodel or Royal Mail, stating that they couldn’t deliver a parcel to you and will provide a tracking number. The intention of this type of fraud is to cause you to click on a link to confirm the parcel or pay a fee. This is a scam. The link is to a fake site in attempt to obtain your personal or payment details.

• All products purchased with Very will include delivery charges at the point of order, so neither we nor our delivery partners will ask for additional payment to allow delivery to take place.

• Not everyone is who they say they are, and scammers often pose as others online.

• The scammer may be a member of the same online dating site as you or any online forum you have joined. The scammer may also contact you on social media.

• They shower you with compliments and claim to be falling in love with you. Victims usually report that this shift occurs very early on in the relationship – so if it all seems to be happening too fast, it might very well be a scam.

• If you ask to meet in person but they always make excuses, be suspicious.

• Eventually, the scammer asks you to accept goods on their behalf, insisting they have already been paid for and request that you forward the goods on to them or a family member. Never accept goods for anyone you do not know personally.