Merseyside Police are helping the Liverpool community avoid scams during the busy Black Friday sales period this weekend.
Members of the public were given guidance on November 21 at the Cunard Building in Liverpool, put together by Merseyside Police’s Economic Crime Team and Cyber Dependent Crime Unit, including associates from Liverpool City Council.
Merseyside Police said: “We’re seeing criminals using increasingly sophisticated tactics to convince people to transfer money. They might pose as your bank, the police, or another trusted organisation.
“Remember, legitimate organisations will never pressure you to move money to a ‘safe account’ – this is always a scam.”
Officers gave advice on how to prevent both online shopping and payment scams, such as only visiting and using websites that have the padlock symbol or ‘https:’ in the web address, or using credit cards rather than bank transfer as it offers less protection.
GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Action Fraud revealed that people in Britain lost over £11.5m to online criminals between November 2023 and January 2024.
Featured image (c) Andrea Piacquadio
