Advance fee scam
This is when fake companies ask for a fee up front and then don’t provide the product or service you’ve paid for.
How it can happen
- You find a loan you want to take out and the lender asks you to pay an admin fee up front to secure it, but the loan isn’t genuine.
- You pay to enter a competition online or on social media but it’s not real and there are no prizes. Or you're told you’ve won a competition (whether you’ve entered it or not) but need to pay an admin fee to get the prize, which doesn’t actually exist.
- You’re offered a job but told you need to pay a fee to cover background checks, a training course or something similar. You pay, but the job doesn't really exist.
- You find a rental property you want but aren’t allowed to look around. You’re asked for a deposit to secure the rental and only later find out the property’s not really for rent.
- You get a surprise call to say you’ve inherited money from a long-lost relative. The caller says you need to pay a fee for a deposit or admin charge that you’ll get back later, but you never do – and the inheritance doesn’t exist.
How you can protect yourself
Never trust requests for up-front payment on loans, goods or services, especially if you haven’t ordered them.
Be wary of online or social media competitions that ask you to pay to enter, or of anyone who says there’s a fee to claim a prize.
Remember, you can’t win a lottery or competition that you didn’t enter.
If you find a job advert you like online or on social media, don’t click on it. Independently research the company to make sure they have a legitimate website or office address – type the URL into your browser and check the address on Google Maps.
Never pay money to start a job.
Stick to using established and well-known estate agents and don't sign a rental agreement or pay a deposit if you haven’t visited the property (and been inside).
If you’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be from a company, always hang up and phone back on a number you know to be correct.
Don’t trust anything that seems too good to be true, as it almost always is.