Scam Secrets

Эпизоды

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  The Power of Your Email 10.09.2026 28мин

  What's the name of your first pet? If a question like that holds the key to your email inbox, it might be time to beef up your security. In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood talk about why our emails are so valuable to scammers, and hear some of the terrible things criminals will do if they can get inside. From booking a holiday to intercepting the proceeds of a house sale, they've got plenty of options. The team is also joined by Ollie Whitehouse, chief technology officer for the National Cyber Security Centre, to talk about the latest ways to keep your inbox secure. Ollie explains why the NCSC thinks it's time to move on from passwords, and explains the technology of passkeys, which he believes are now the safest option.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  How to Help Someone Who's Being Scammed 03.09.2026 28мин

  Your relative is in the grip of a scam. You can see it - but they can't. Would you know what to do?It's a situation you never want to find yourself in. And if you do, it can be hard knowing where to turn and how to help.This episode is inspired by the emails we've received from people whose friends and relatives are being scammed.With the help of two experts who deal with this question every day - one from a bank, the other from the police - Shari, Lis and Alex set out to offer listeners a 'toolkit' of things to do in this horrible scenario.They cover how to contact a victim's bank, tips on breaking the spell that the criminals have laid, and what the police will try to do to help.Let us know your experience, and what else you want Scam Secrets to cover - [email protected]: SHARI VAHL PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  QR Code Scams 27.08.2026 28мин

  Do you scan QR codes? Since Covid, they've become embedded in many aspects of our lives. But perhaps we're a bit too trusting of them.On this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear how criminals are finding different ways to exploit those little black and white squares.Two Scam Secrets listeners give their experience - Les, who scanned a QR code while trying to pay for parking on a trip to the coast - and Keith, who used a QR scanner app he'd downloaded to try to buy a classic car book.Both of them ended up with criminals taking money from their bank accounts in monthly chunks.Professor Filipo Sharevski of DePaul University has studied the malicious use of QR codes. He tells Scam Secrets how they're increasingly used in emails to disguise phishing links - a technique known as quishing.Prof Sharevski also describes his experiments testing the public's willingness to scan QR codes when they're out and about. You might think twice next time you encounter one.Remember you can get in touch with the programme and tell us about the scame you want us to investigate - [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  Inside Report Fraud 20.08.2026 28мин

  What really happens when you report a scam?In this special episode, Shari takes a trip behind the scenes at the fraud reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.For years, this was called Action Fraud - and victims often complained about the way they were dealt with when they tried to report what had happened to them.Since the start of the year, there's been a new system in place. It's called Report Fraud, and the people in charge say it's a totally different operation.So we went to check it out. With total losses from fraud estimated at well over a billion pounds last year, and scammers constantly evolving their techniques using the latest technology, there's never a quiet day.Shari meets call handlers and victim support officers who are on the front line speaking to vulnerable victims, police officers trying to shut down scam sites - and puts listener questions to the overall boss of Report Fraud.For this episode, she's joined by Professor Mark Button from Portsmouth University, a fraud specialist who has researched the experience of fraud victims in the UK.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Customer Complaints Scam 13.08.2026 28мин

  Have you ever been desperately trying to contact a company to complain about shoddy service? Or needed to cut through the automated responses and speak to a human who can help? Most of us have - and the criminals have latched onto it.Scam Secrets takes a journey into the world of customer service scams. Criminals pose on social media as respected brands, going out of their way to help. They'll even offer a refund - but the money only goes in one direction. Shari, Lis and Alex grab their red flags and hear from a listener whose attempts to complain about a parcel delivery led her right into the grip of criminals. They hear about the vast scale of this type of scam - researchers found 350,000 fake accounts impersonating 2,600 brands - and discuss the best ways to avoid getting scammed while you're trying to complain.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  How To Spot A Deepfake 06.08.2026 28мин

  Scam Secrets is back with a close look at deepfakes. Lots of the stories we hear involve victims being lured into scams by fake videos or photos of trusted people. Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear what happened when a listener confronted the man stealing from her mother during a live video call where he was pretending to be her lover. YouTube scam-baiter Jim Browning joins the programme to talk about the techniques he uses to unmask criminals hiding behind deepfakes - and give a scary glimpse into the future.Remember you can email the show at [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Instagram Takeover Scam 04.06.2026 28мин

  An old friend is posting about how well his investments are doing - and he's offering you the chance to get involved too. Would you know what to do?In this final episode of the series, the Scam Secrets team unpick a fraud which ripped through a group of close mates. One by one, their Instagram accounts were infiltrated as, believing they were chatting to a friend, they handed over their login details, hoping to join a crypto investment scheme. But that gave the criminals all they needed to take over the account and use it as a platform to try the same trick on all their followers. It's a modern day pyramid scheme that plays on the victims' desire to make money and their trust in their friends.Scam Secrets will be back later in the year. In the meantime, you can contact the team at [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Knock at the Door 28.05.2026 27мин

  A roofer's at your door - they've spotted a couple of loose tiles and they can fix them straight away. It's only a quick job. Would you know what to do?Almost all of the scams we've dissected so far have been done remotely - on the phone, by text or online. But what if the criminal is standing right in front of you - perhaps even inside your home? That's what the Scam Secrets team are looking at in this episode. Because while criminals have embraced the digital world and AI, they'll still steal from you face to face too - and many of the techniques are the same.We hear from Jane, who got one of those knocks on the door from a 'roofer' - before long, she'd had thousands of pounds stolen by criminals who even used a fake video of birds on her roof to try to steal more.It's not just rogue traders though - who can resist helping someone in need? We'll hear what happens when a man approaches people at a motorway service station with a simple-sounding request for help...PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Trial Shift Scam 21.05.2026 28мин

  A group of young jobseekers are gathered outside a dental surgery in West London, nervously waiting for a trial shift for the job they've just applied for. But as time ticks on, they realise there is no shift. In fact there is no job. But it gets much worse - their identities have all been stolen. Shari Vahl and the Scam Secrets team hear from one of those people, Joe. For him, the real impact of what the criminals had done only hit home several months later.What started as a plausible looking job posting on a big recruitment site, from a business that checked out, ended with him trying to extract himself from thousands of pounds' worth of loans and the lingering fear of what the criminals would do next.It's a growing scam aimed at anyone browsing online recruitment sites. Would you spot the red flags?Remember you can get in touch with the Scam Secrets team: [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Customer Service Returns Scam 14.05.2026 27мин

  If you buy from a website that turns out to be fake and run by criminals, your first thought is probably about the money you've parted with. But that's not all they're after. Because you're also handing over personal data that can be far more lucrative than whatever you paid for the rubbish clothes that you're left with.In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood revisit the Great Knitted Cardigan Scam to find out what happens to the information victims enter into these sites. Email address, phone number, bank details...Shari calls it identity bingo. She's uncovered an audacious technique where victims' details are used as returns addresses to make these bogus sites look legitimate. And it doesn't stop there - cyber security expert Matthew Gracey-McMinn reveals how our data changes hands on the dark web and some of the other uses criminals make of it.Remember you can contact the Scam Secrets team and tell us the scams you want to see investigated - [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Podcast Scam 07.05.2026 28мин

  You've been invited onto a well-known podcast (not this one). They'll even pay you to take part. Would you know what to do?Shari Vahl, Alex Wood and Dr Lis Carter unravel an elaborate scam that's aimed at people and organisations with a big social following. They hear from a dog groomer who was tricked into handing over her Facebook account by an extremely convincing-sounding invitation to appear on a US podcast. The same trick has been used on other charities and influencers and it's made even harder to spot because the podcast does exist. So how are you supposed to check?And crucially, what are the criminals really after?PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Booking.com Scam 30.04.2026 28мин

  You've booked a holiday and the hotel gets in touch to ask for a payment to confirm your booking. They know your name and they've got all the details of your reservation. Would you know what to do? In this episode, people using booking.com are targeted by a hard-to-spot scam where official-looking messages arrive, asking for payment. Needless to say, that payment doesn't go to the hotel. But how do the criminals do it? And what chance do you have of spotting it?Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood find out, with the help of cyber crime expert Rafe Pilling.Remember you can contact the programme at [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  Behind the Fake Profiles 23.04.2026 28мин

  Whether we're chatting, texting, buying or dating, the tech services we all use are being abused by criminals to worm their way into our lives. So what are these huge businesses doing to keep us safe?In this episode of Scam Secrets recorded at the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, some of the biggest names in consumer tech chat to Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood about the threats they're facing.Red flags at the ready, we ask Amazon what the world's biggest online marketplace is doing to protect users. Match Group, owner of Tinder, Hinge and a host of other well-known dating sites tells us it's trying to weed out fake profiles. And Virgin Media/O2 lifts the lid on how those Winter Fuel Allowance texts arrive on your phone. PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  Following the Trail 16.04.2026 28мин

  A message pops up. It's a scam, you can spot that. But who sent it? Where in the world did it come from? And how has it ended up in your inbox? For this special episode of Scam Secrets, the team visit the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Vienna. Pretty much everyone engaged in the world fight against scams is there too, from politicians and police to the biggest tech companies on the planet. Challenged by listener Catherine to find out more about the criminals who stole £200,000 from her dad in the previous episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood ask Interpol why it isn't easier to track criminals down. And the organised crime chief of the United Nations tells us how networks of global organised crime lie behind that message you received - and offers harrowing evidence of why the scammers are often victims too.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  Please Call Me 09.04.2026 28мин

  Scam Secrets is back with a close look at a disturbing and emerging scam technique that can totally clean out its victims.In a hybrid scam - or pig butchering, as the criminals describe it - the manipulation reaches new levels as investment and romance scams are combined. Shari Vahl, criminal language expert Dr Lis Carter and former fraudster Alex Wood hear from Catherine, whose father was targeted in this way. A chilling voicenote reveals the romantic element to the scam, while a criminal pretending to be an investment adviser was busy stealing more than £200,000 from the 84-year-old.One of the leading experts on this trend, Dr Martina Dove, tells the team how she's read detailed scripts guiding criminals through how to psychologically manipulate different types of victims to a terrifying level of detail.Remember if there's a scam you want the team to investigate, or if you want to let us know what you thought of the programme - get in touch at [email protected]: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  Could You Grab Me Some Gift Cards? 25.12.2025 28мин

  It's coming up to Christmas, and you might have gift cards on your mind. The perfect present choice for many scenarios - but also the perfect weapon for criminals. In 2023, Action Fraud got more than 6,000 crime reports about gift cards. More than £13 million was stolen.So what turns these versatile gifts into gold dust for criminals? That's what Shari Vahl, Elisabeth Carter and Alex Wood will be finding out, along with the shocking story of Sarah, who thought she was helping out her boss while on work experience but ended up buying £1,300 in gift cards for criminals.As always, the team will get under the skin of the scam, hearing how criminals target their victims and why even a simple LinkedIn post could put you at risk.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The WhatsApp Takeover 18.12.2025 28мин

  WhatsApp is part of our daily lives – and criminals know how to weaponise that trust.In this episode, Shari Vahl and the team hear how a devastatingly simple trick handed the keys for a Scam Secrets listener's WhatsApp account to a scammer. Along with expert linguist Dr Elisabeth Carter and former criminal Alex Wood, Shari finds out what the hacker did next - and how an old friend was tricked into handing over money.As ever, there will be red flags waving to show you what to watch out for - and essential tips from our guest expert to keep your account secure.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  We've Noticed Your CV 11.12.2025 28мин

  You might be on the lookout for work - so when a message arrives with a job offer, the timing is perfect. This is what happens to the people who are drawn in by the fake recruitment text scam that has been bombarding people's phones.Shari Vahl, Dr Elisabeth Carter and Alex Wood hear how one man was lured in with promises of payment for simple tasks - then trapped in a cycle of payments and false earnings, even unwittingly becoming a money mule for the criminal pretending to be his boss. Just to ramp up the psychological pressure, his 'co-workers' were also in on the act.The Scam Secrets team will dissect the criminals' methods, revealing what lies behind this extremely common and seemingly innocuous text message. And they'll wave their red flags so you can safely steer clear of what could turn out to be a very expensive job offer.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  How Do I Get My Money Back? 04.12.2025 28мин

  You've just been scammed. The red flags didn't work this time and criminals have stolen your money. Your mind's all over the place. Will you ever see that cash again? In this special episode of Scam Secrets, Shari Vahl and a cast of experts walk you through the process so you know your rights. She'll point out the factors that improve your chances of a refund - as well as the dreaded circumstances that could mean your money is lost forever. And they'll walk you through the crucial steps you should take as soon as you realise what has happened, because the actions you take in the aftermath can have a big impact on getting your money back. For this episode, Shari is joined by David Geale, executive director of the Payment Systems Regulator, Richard Daniels, head of fraud at TSB and Paul Hampson, director at CEL Solicitors.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
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  The Winter Fuel Text 27.11.2025 28мин

  You've probably got the scam Winter Fuel Payment text at least once. You might well have ignored it. But what happens when the criminals hit the jackpot, the circumstances fit, and you try to take up the offer?That's what happened to Peggy - and in this episode her experience is analysed by Scam Secrets regulars Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood.With the help of a convincing but very fake website, a one time passcode trick and the mind games that scammers deploy, the criminals wanted to go on a shopping spree on Peggy. But just as they were getting ready to splash her cash, an unexpected plot twist scuppered them.PRESENTER: SHARI VAHLPRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY