Mobile Phone Fraud and Pay Rises

The anti-fraud charity the Fraud Advisory Panel says banks are inconsistent and being caught off guard by the emerging and growing threat of mobile phone fraud. It's when criminals steal people's phones not for the actual handset but to gain access to banking and financial apps. We'll hear from one man who had £16,000 stolen when he was mugged last year. UK Finance says the industry is constantly monitoring fraud threats to help protect customers and that this type of mobile phone fraud is not a common occurrence, but that the industry is not complacent about new and emerging threats.

In April we investigated complaints about Scottish Widows after listeners told us about struggles to get hold of pensions and other sums. Since then our inbox continues to receive a steady stream of similar grievances. New figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service given to Money Box show that complaints about the company rose by more than a third last year. We investigate and get a response from the company.

We discuss the new details of how His Majesty's Revenue & Customs is going to change the law to help protect consumers from rogue tax repayment agents - companies who claim things like marriage or work from home allowance on people's behalf. In the autumn Money Box discovered the number of complaints to HMRC about repayment agents more than tripled in just two years with nearly two thousand being made in just the first eight months of last year alone.

And, how to get a pay rise and what you should think about before you ask.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast at 12pm Saturday 14th January, 2023)