Beware of Deceptive Discount Ads: Experts Call It a Highly Advanced Scam

As you search for the most advantageous place to park your savings, particularly with the decline in interest rates, you’re likely to be drawn to an online advertisement promoting an attractive fixed-rate savings plan from a reputable financial institution.

However, this turns out to be a fraudulent scheme. In this scam, individuals in the UK are lured into depositing their savings, which are then diverted by impostors posing as the financial service company Wise.

The Mechanism of the Scam

An online advertisement asks customers to complete a form, which is quickly followed by a phone call to discuss investment opportunities. The slightly above-average interest rate offered makes the deal seem credible.

During the call, the scam artists instruct victims to open an actual Wise account under the guise of it being a savings account. To keep up appearances, they send out official-looking correspondence complete with Wise’s logo and accurate address.

Martin Richardson from the National Fraud Helpline, a law firm specializing in scam recovery, calls it “one of the most sophisticated and convincing scams we have encountered.”

“Once your details are logged, they recognize your phone number immediately during future calls, requesting you to answer security questions. The email they use looks authentic, and the fluency in English of the callers adds to their credibility,” he explains.

“It appears that when the scammers assist in setting up the genuine Wise account for their victims, they configure the two-factor authentication and virtual card details to synchronize with their own devices.” They then use Apple Pay, set up with the victim’s details, to transfer the money from the supposed “savings” account into other Wise accounts under their control.

Richardson points out that these scammers are investing heavily in social media advertising, which likely means there are numerous victims.

Appearance of the Scam

In this instance, the fraudulent advertisement offers a 5.55% rate on a one-year easy-access savings account, or 5.85% if no withdrawals are made during the 12-month period.

The advertisement and all related communications feature the Wise logo and the correct mailing address. However, Wise does not actually offer traditional savings products like those advertised.

Wise comments, “We are aware of scams that misuse the branding of financial service providers to mislead individuals into believing they are securing or investing their money.”

“Whenever we discover attempts to impersonate Wise, including on social media platforms, we act quickly to have the content removed,” the company adds.

Steps to Take

This type of fraud is known as authorized push payment (APP) fraud, where individuals are deceived into willingly transferring money from their bank account.

If the transferred money went to another UK account, victims should theoretically be able to recover their funds from their bank or payment service provider, thanks to new regulations enforced last year.

Victims should report the transaction to Wise, contact law enforcement, and inform the Financial Conduct Authority.

Richardson mentions that his firm has successfully assisted two victims in reclaiming over £20,000 each.