'Trusting' islanders at 'greater risk of fraud'

Islanders in Guernsey and Jersey are particularly susceptible to financial fraud due to their "trusting" communities, the chief executive of Channel Islands' Financial Ombudsman says.

Doug Melville such scams were increasing and a "battle" that the public needed better defences against.

He said the number of authorised push payment fraud cases had grown in the last year, with scammers posing as an official body such as a bank to convince victims to move money under pretences of suspicious activity in their bank account.

Anyone that lost money to scammers should report it to police and their banks as quickly as possible to increase their chance of having their money returned, he said.

Mr Melville said: "This is a war that we are engaged in here and, if you have been scammed, take immediate action - don't waste your time worrying about it."

He added that fraudsters would create a perceived threat that required urgent action as urgency "often causes people to let their guard down".

Mr Melville said: "One of my favourite lines is 'Trust but verify.'

You don't want to lose that wonderful part of this community where people know and trust each other; but, at the same time, you don't want people to be able to take advantage of that trust and manipulate you in a way that they can steal your money more easily."

Mr Melville said banks have invested in security and technology to prevent fraud, meaning "the weakest link is us - the customers".

Those that received unsolicited phone calls or text messages from someone claiming to be their bank should be "sceptical" and "risk-conscious".

Mr Melville also recommended hanging up and calling banks directly if they are trying to contact anyone.

States of Jersey Police have published the Little Book of Big Scams on their website to help people protect themselves.

The guide had been adapted into a "one-stop shop" for local advice to act against fraud, officers said.

The force's lead on fraud and scam prevention, Det Ch Insp Chris Beechey said: "We operate three golden rules.

"One is always think twice, the second one is to protect personal information, and the third one is to verify the source."

He added: "We are encouraging people to be ever more suspicious, unfortunately; that is the price of technology today."

He continued that if anyone believed they had spotted a new scam, report it to the police, even if they had not lost any money.

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