The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s (NFIB) have identified an emerging fraud where social media platforms are being used to attract members of the public to donate money to animal welfare charities overseas that do not exist.

The NFIB has discovered that criminal groups based in Spain or Cyprus are using social media to target donors from the UK. The money is then laundered from the UK to overseas and is used to support a criminal lifestyle in the sun.

They will canvass for contributions through their existing social networks which will expand over time, attracting more donors.

The NFIB were informed that the people committing this fraud are merely supplementing their income as they are always linked to organised crime groups in the UK and overseas.

Protection advice
Sometimes the article or post on social media may indicate the payments are for charitable organisation or a “worthy cause”. Sadly not in all instances are these genuine, and if any doubt please undertake your own due diligence.

Other signs to look for include:

• Genuine charities are registered with the Charity Commission and print their registration details on all documentation, collection bags, envelopes, electronic communications etc. Check these details exist and also contact the Charity Commission to confirm they are authentic.
• If the collection is for a charity you know is genuine, check the collection is authorised by asking the charity directly, using contact details from the phone book or a website that you know is genuine.
• Watch out for poor grammar and spelling.
• Send your donation to the charity directly. This may mean going to a little more trouble, but at least you can be sure your donation will get to where it’s intended.
• If you have any concerns you can also get further information from Gov.uk.

Don’t Forget
Complete the new 2016/17 Cyber Crime survey, so we can see the full scope of Cyber Crime in Warwickshire, and across West Mercia, the West Midlands and Staffordshire – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RegionalCyber16

For more information about our work, please visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com/cybercrime

Cyber Aware is a cross-government campaign, funded by the National Cyber Security Programme. They aim to measurably and significantly improve the online safety behaviour and confidence of consumers and small businesses (SMEs).

Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety. Their website offers advice on how you can protect yourself, your computers and devices, and your business against the likes of fraud, identity theft, viruses and other potential online problems.