Take care with international money transfers, warns fraud expert

Consumers need to exercise caution when undertaking online transactions such as international money transfers, a fraud watchdog said today.

Cifas revealed results of new research carried out by Get Safe Online, which found that 23 per cent of Britons had either experienced a phishing scam - where a mocked-up email is used to extract personal data – or been friends with or related to someone who had in the last year.

In addition to this type of scam, Cifas said another of the most common types of fraud was where a consumer is asked to take part in a deal involving a foreign money transfer. However, this is then used to empty the victim's account.

"The immediacy and informality of the internet make it easier for us to drop our guard and forget that - all too often - the sender may not be who he or she is supposed to be," advised Cifas communications manager Richard Hurley.

"People are just not being cautious enough, especially when they are online."

Last month, figures from the organisation revealed a 16 per cent growth in fraud across the UK.