Safeguarding Menu
Protect yourselves from Scams
At BAEC, we take the safeguarding of our learners very seriously.
We aim to bring information about the latest scam to your attention.
On this page, we post the latest information from the Metropolitan Police, the London Borough of Bromley and other partners.
Unsolicited calls selling financial products set to be banned in UK
04/05/23 - Unsolicited calls from companies selling financial products are to be banned in the UK, the government has announced.
The government stated that modern technology has helped to create new ways for criminals to target and bombard individuals with calls, texts and emails. During the summer of 2022, 41 million people were targeted by suspicious communications, data published by regulator Ofcom revealed. more
06/04/23 - It can be difficult to spot a fake, fraudulent or scam website. Criminals can be extremely cunning and use their expertise to create convincing websites.
Which? are here to help - follow their eight simple tips to test whether a website is legitimate or not. more
29/03/23 The scam begins when a criminal gets access to another WhatsApp account which has you listed as a
contact. The criminal, posing as your friend or someone that’s a member of a WhatsApp group you’re in, will then send you seemingly normal messages to try and start a conversation with you.
However, around the same time you will receive a text message from WhatsApp with a 6-digit code. This is because the criminal has been trying to login to WhatsApp using your mobile number. The criminal will claim that they sent you their code by accident and ask you to help them by sending it to them. more
Britons warned to watch out for new phone contract scam that 'empties bank accounts'
28/03/23 With a lot of phone contracts soon to increase in line with inflation from April, Britons are being targeted with "legitimate-looking" emails and texts about discounted phone bills.
Britons are being urged to stay vigilant over a new phone bill scam that could see people having their bank accounts “emptied”. The scam comes ahead of the phone contract price rise in April, with some Virgin Mobile and O2 customers due to see an increase of 17.3 percent from April 1, and some BT customers seeing an increase of 14.4 percent. more
SCAM ALERT: Fake Automated Calls Claiming to be Banks and Card Companies
07/03/23 UK Finance is warning consumers to stay alert for suspicious automated phone calls pretending to be from their bank or card company, after dozens of reports of similar scams over the past week.
With this scam, customers will receive an automated call claiming that a suspicious transaction has occurred on their account and needs to be verified. The customer is then prompted to press a number on their phone to be taken through to a supposed 'agent', who is actually a criminal.
All consumers are reminded that banks or the police will never contact you asking for your online banking password or for you to transfer money to a new account for fraud reasons.
Amazon, Royal Mail and Evri on how to spot and protect yourself from delivery scam texts
07/01/2023 - The rise in online shopping has given criminals opportunities to try and swindle valuable details from you by sending texts pretending to be from well-known delivery companies.
Known as 'smishing', the con aims to get you to click on dodgy website links and to give away your personal information. more
PayPal Email scams
08/12/22 - Fraudsters are exploiting PayPal's 'request money' feature to trick customers
National Trading Standards
The National Trading Standards Scam Team collects the latest information - you can subscribe to their email alerts here
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud or identity theft, you should report this directly to Action Fraud either online; https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or via phone 0300 123 2040.
Where the victim is vulnerable, report it to the MPS online or call 101.