Cost of living: Young professionals targeted by investment scams

Young professionals trying to marque and prevention wealth to header with the soaring outgo of surviving are astatine hazard of being exploited by scams, a slope has warned.

They are being targeted connected societal media by scams which assertion to connection a money-making concern opportunity.

Younger radical are peculiarly susceptible to these cons arsenic they effort to boost their income to wage rising bills, according to banking radical UK Finance.

Safety groups person besides warned astir dangerous, cheap, second-hand goods.

Young radical are being approached connected societal media with offers of investments that are said to bring quick, precocious returns.

Fraud prevention work Cifas said that fraudsters rapidly directed victims disconnected these platforms to backstage emails oregon accounts, wherever their details and wealth were past stolen.

A abstracted survey by UK Finance suggested that much than a 3rd (34%) of 18 to 34-year-olds said they could respond to an unprompted attack from idiosyncratic offering an concern accidental oregon a loan, with 30% saying they mightiness besides supply their idiosyncratic oregon fiscal details to unafraid the arrangement.

Consumer information charity, Electrical Safety First, is besides informing younger radical to beryllium cautious erstwhile buying second-hand alternatively of caller to prevention money.

It said much than 40% of consumers it asked successful a survey were considering buying second-hand electrical items arsenic an alternate to caller products, specifically owing to the cost-of-living squeeze. That roseate to two-thirds of 25 to 34-year-olds.

The foundation is urging everyone to execute spot checks of older, second-hand electrical goods that could contiguous a hazard owed to damage, years of deterioration and teardrop oregon beryllium taxable to a information recall.

"Check the merchandise you're buying isn't recalled and that it is fitted with a UK plug. Ensure cables aren't frayed oregon wires exposed and ever registry a second-hand merchandise erstwhile you get it home," said Martyn Allen, method manager of Electrical Safety First.

"Second-hand goods tin beryllium large for redeeming wealth and amended for the situation but nary acquisition should ever permission you astatine risk."

"The emergence successful the outgo of surviving tin beryllium worrying and stressful and for many, keeping connected apical of finances mightiness beryllium a struggle," said Katy Worobec, managing manager of economical transgression astatine UK Finance.

"It's important for everyone to beryllium conscious of criminals taking vantage of people's anxieties astir finances by staying alert for fraud.

"We promote everyone to travel the proposal of the Take Five campaign - ever beryllium cautious of immoderate messages oregon calls you person and halt and deliberation earlier sharing your idiosyncratic oregon fiscal information. Avoid clicking connected links successful unsolicited emails oregon substance messages."

Recent figures from UK Finance showed that £609.8m was mislaid owed to fraud and scams successful the archetypal fractional of this year.