The current cost of living crisis is proving fertile ground for financial fraudsters – with loan, energy rebate and investment scams on the rise as people focus on managing their money.

That was just one of the key messages shared with Ulster Bank Premier customers at a recent event on fraud.

Panellist Paul Maskell, Fraud and Cybercrime Manager, UK Finance, said it was important to “stop, take a breather and be mindful” when receiving a text, email or phone call asking you to do something.

He told the audience: “Fraudsters play on our emotions, and they’re very, very good at providing the right context. We saw it during Covid, with scams around the NHS and business loans. And now, with the cost of living crisis, we’re seeing it again, with scams directed at people trying to get more from their money.

“They often tell you something you really want or need to hear, at the exact time you need to hear it.”

He stressed that, although almost 90% of all fraud is now online or through a phone call, it’s still not about technology, it’s about feelings.

“You take messages you receive in a certain way depending on how you feel in that moment,” he said. “Have you ever taken a text message the wrong way from a partner? Or an email the wrong way from a colleague? Fraudsters play on that, looking to use your hope, excitement, panic or fear to make you act in a certain way.”

Paul added: “It’s always worth taking a step back and thinking ‘what’s my emotional reaction to this?’. We’re not always very good at that. Pause, reflect and ask yourself if it could be a scam.”

There’s a common misconception that only some people could fall victim to fraud. But the panel stressed this wasn’t true.

Dylan Williams, Head of Affluent, Ulster Bank – and event host – said: “So many of us believe it will be someone else who is scammed, but we could all potentially be vulnerable at certain points of our lives, with people from all walks of life being caught out.”

Panellist Vicki Ashworth, from Ulster Bank’s Behavioural Science team, added: “There are certain circumstances where some people may be more vulnerable than others. But as humans, we’re all susceptible. Everyone will experience vulnerability at some point in their lives, and most likely at some point in their day as well.”

While many worry about how their elderly relatives might tackle fraud, Paul said it was a risk for all ages.

“There is a different flavour of fraud for everyone,” he said. “The older generation can be targeted by things like romance scams as loneliness can be a factor, while younger people might see holiday or tax rebate scams."

“But no matter how old you are, if you’ve got financial anxiety and you receive an email offering you money, you may well focus on the money rather than any red flags.”

Questions were submitted by the audience around the hassle of remembering multiple passwords, and how often they should be changed.

Paul said you didn’t necessarily need to change a password often, but recommended having a unique one for everything you do.

“If one company you deal with has a data breach and your email and password become public, criminals could use them. So if you use them for anything else, that’s at risk too.

“Using things like password manager is very important because it takes the guess work out of trying to remember your passwords. And then you only really need to change one if you think it’s been compromised.”