Billions of pounds are lost to fraud in the UK each year. Research from UK Finance found that there were almost 3 million cases of unauthorised fraud in 2023 which resulted in £708.7m in losses.
Despite the huge rise in scams in recent years, there are ways that you can protect your money. In this article, we take a look at some clever services you can use in order to protect your finances.
How to protect against scams and problem spending
Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS)
Consumers - or someone acting on their behalf e.g. via power of attorney - can register with the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) and choose to have credit agencies and companies take their vulnerability into consideration when they are assessing the suitability of a product or service. Users can choose to have their application automatically denied if they apply for credit. Or alternatively, they can have their name 'flagged', which means the company will contact them to discuss their application.
GAMSTOP
GAMSTOP is an online service that allows consumers to register and exclude themselves from online gambling using any websites or apps offered by companies licensed in Great Britain. A name, address, and email address are required and there is the option to be excluded for a period of six months, one year, or five years. Once the exclusion period has expired, GAMSTOP would then need to be contacted and the necessary protocol would need to be followed and met before the exclusion is removed.
Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey is a browser add-on that is designed to increase productivity by blocking distracting websites, games, and apps. However, it can also be used to block problem spending websites such as gambling or online shopping sites.
Telephone Preference Service
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) allows you to opt out of receiving unsolicited sales and marketing calls that could increase a vulnerable person's risk of being scammed. You can simply register the relevant telephone number on its website.
Banks that currently offer gambling blocks
Scams aren't the only way you could find your finances at risk. Gambling can eat away at your money and leave you in immense amounts of debt before you even realise it. Fortunately, some banks have gambling-block options, which restrict known gambling sites and services so that you cannot access them.
If you are unsure if your bank offers a gambling block, it is best to contact them directly. We've rounded up a list of banks which currently offer gambling-block services:
- Monzo
- Chase Bank
- Starling Bank
- Revolut
- Halifax
- HSBC
- First Direct
- Barclays
- NatWest
- Nationwide
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Lloyds Bank
- Santander
- Bank of Scotland
Where to get free debt help and advice
Should you end up in trouble as a result of scams or gambling, there are many charities and websites that offer free debt and financial advice. We've listed some of them below:
