Society in Blackburn holding financial fraud awareness event

The branch, on King William Street, will be hosting the session from 10am on 12th February 2025, which is open to members of the public and customers. The session will include advice on how to spot common types of financial scams, including investment, romance, impersonation, and purchase scams. Participants will also be directed to information and tools to help keep them and their money safe.

Research from Yorkshire Building Society suggests that almost three-fifths (56%) of UK adults have experienced some form of scam, with online scams being the most common (56%), followed by phishing attacks (55%), and identity theft (20%). Whilst those aged 55+ were the most likely to have been targeted by an online scam (60%), younger people aged 18-34 were the most likely to be deceived by a scam. Those who report losing money to a scam said they lost an average of £344, rising to £420 amongst those aged 18–34.

Clare Smalley, Branch Manager at Yorkshire Building Society in Blackburn, said: “Fraud scams can happen to anybody, but older people are often targeted when it comes to financial fraud. By hosting our fraud session, we hope to reach as many people as possible in Blackburn to raise awareness around this issue. We’ll be talking about the common types of fraud and actions to take to prevent being deceived by scammers.”

Yorkshire Building Society is part of the Take Five national campaign led by UK Finance, and backed by the Government, that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud please visit www.ybs.co.uk/security or www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk