Conmen are constantly coming up with new tricks to put your money at risk. As fears are raised over a new scam called vishing, Vicky Shaw looks at some steps you can take to protect your cash

FRAUDSTERS are increasingly using a telephone con trick known as vishing to steal millions of pounds from unsuspecting consumers.

About one in four people is estimated to be at risk from the scam, which involves a criminal posing as someone else to glean sensitive financial information so that they can access someone’s bank account or use their details to commit identity theft.

The conman will often pretend to be someone from a bank or building society fraud investigation team, the police or another legitimate organisation such as a telephone or internet provider. A variation involves the victim being persuaded to withdraw money from a branch or cash machine to pay those behind the fraud.

Research by the Financial Fraud Action (FFA) UK, a body which works to prevent fraud on behalf of the financial services industry, suggests that nearly a quarter of people in the UK have received a cold call requesting personal or financial information, meaning they could go on to become a victim of the scam if the caller was not legitimate.

Two-fifths of consumers admit they find it hard to work out if such calls are genuine.

In one case seen by charity Citizens Advice, a man lost £15,000 after a sophisticated con mimicked his bank’s contact system.

There has been evidence in recent years that advances in technology such as chip and Pin have forced criminals to resort to old-fashioned cons to gain access to people’s money – simply calling people to trick them out of cash.

The word vishing is a combination of voice and phishing, which is a scam where fraudsters obtain personal details and passwords by sending fake emails designed to look like they came from legitimate organisations such as banks.

FFA UK has seen a £36m increase over the past year in crimes involving either online and phone banking, purchases made online and over the phone or criminals filling out fraudulent applications – at least £7m of this has been put down to vishing.

About one in 25 adults may have already been duped in such a con, according to FFA UK’s findings. Older people are particularly at risk, with more than two-fifths of victims thought to be over 50.

Legitimate organisations will not ask people to reveal details like their full Pin over the phone, so it is important to be wary of anyone who calls up out of the blue asking for information which could help to unlock a bank account.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says: ‘‘Professional con artists can be very convincing, so it is important to be on your guard, even if someone sounds trustworthy.

‘‘If you are in any doubt, then do not be afraid to hang up, and report any suspicious calls to Action Fraud, trading standards or the police.’’ So how can you minimise the risk of falling victim to a financial fraud?

Do not assume a caller is genuine just because they hold some details about you.

If someone suggests that you hang up the telephone and call back to check their authenticity, try using a different line to do this. It takes two people to terminate a phone call, and the fraudster could be keeping the line open by not putting the phone down at their end.

There are also more general steps that you can take. Try to memorise as many passwords and Pin numbers as you can.

If you need to write them down, keep them separately to other financial documents.

If you are expecting to receive a document containing your personal details such as a bank statement or a utility bill and it does not turn up, contact your supplier.

And do not give out personal information, including copies of your passport or driving licence, as well as bank details, unless you know who is using it and why.