Barclays says £14,000 the average loss in investment scams as young adults targeted - tips to avoid scams

The average loss suffered by victims of investment scams is £14,000, according to data from Barclays. The bank has said that victims of this kind of fraud lost £14,313 on average last year, with nearly half (48%) of reported investment scams involving younger adults aged 21 to 40. Scammers often entice people to make a small initial investment, with scammers paying out from other victims’ money. This often persuades the victim that the investment is legitimate, which results in bigger losses, the bank said.

Here are Barclays’ tips to avoid investment scams:

1. Social media thrives on human impulse and scammers often create a false sense of urgency. Pause and reflect before committing to any investments.

2. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Speak to a qualified financial adviser or family member to get a second opinion. Be wary of taking investment recommendations from a friend without doing your own research.

3. Check to see if the person or organisation contacting you is Financial Conduct Authority-authorised via the financial services register or the FCA’s ScamSmart investment checker.

The news from Barclays comes just weeks after Santander said it witnessed a notable surge of nearly one-third (32%) in purchase scams compared to 2022 last year.

According to the bank, in 2023, 80% of the reported purchase scams originated from online selling platforms or marketplaces. In collaboration with Gumtree, Santander is working to alert shoppers about the signs to watch for.

Last year, Gumtree removed 1,177,292 listings from across its platform for failing to meet its posting standards and policies.

Of those, 42,725 ads were removed because of suspicions of fraud, a decrease of 31% annually, which Gumtree said is thanks to an improved safety infrastructure which has prevented scam listings from being posted in the first place.

According to Gumtree’s data, the most popular listings for criminals to create fake posts about include smartphones, games consoles, digital cameras, headphones, dogs, collectables, and guitars.

For more information on avoiding this type of scan, head here