Ask your fraud and scam questions to Take Five to Stop Fraud representative and Senior Fraud Prevention Officer Tony Blake - chance to win £150 voucher! NOW CLOSED

How do I know a webiste is safe? I heard relying on https is not the best idea...?

Even if you have an email from a relative it could be a scam... how do you know it's not them??

Please Tony, can you tell everyone about the scam where the "policeman from a London Police station" rings you that you check the number they ask you to call TO USE ON ANOTHER PHONE! Your landline is kept open and a helpful person will "come and collect your debit/credit card"! Sorry, this isn't a question, but a helpful hint Tony could give out to stop anyone being scammed!

How safe are contactless payments, it seems just a little bit too easy as a payment method?

I have a contactless payment facility on my card which I have never used as I am worried about someone getting my details. Have you got any advice please?

I am I would say savvy on the world of internet crime. I have 2 adult sons who work in the world of the internet with software developing and engineering. They bought us up kicking and screaming with it all.

I was shocked a few months ago that some one had tried to debit my card online. Fortunately my bank recognised it was suspicious and rang me.

I was gutted as I am so careful . I spoke to our eldest about it who reassured me that however careful you are that nothing is impossible.

If you have paid for something for example over the phone and you are asked for details to pay that is another way of them getting your details. It seems however careful and knowledgeable you are you can't stop it.

My question is will they ever beable to completely stop fraud do you think? The fraudsters seem to be getting more and more sophisticated however much prevention you put in front of them

As a regular user of social media I last year received a message from Facebook asking me to change my password as I’d had it for some time. Regrettably I changed it but then it asked for my bank details to confirm my identity. I literally don’t know what I was thinking but I did it. It looked so much like the real thing. I two seconds later had to call my bank & inform them. My gut told me not to give my details but I still Done it : /
Anyway...my question...
How do you know social media pages, groups etc are genuine?

I have been the victim of a scam from a friend I trusted, but the police were not as interested as they should have been. How can I prevent this happening again and who can I turn to to ensure justice prevails?

Is it safe having credit card details stored on Amazon. My husband says it is but I'm not sure.

Last year my bank card was cloned. I have no idea how as I had not been to the cashpoint in over 2 weeks, the card had not been out of my possession and no-one has access to my bank details. I have purchased online before but it was some time since I had done even that. I had used my card on 4 occasions in the preceding 10 days (Boots, Wilko, Tesco, Asda). Although I got my money refunded by my bank it was hassle I could have done without . What can I do to reduce the chances of something similar occurring again?

Some small traders and even car boot sellers offer payment by handheld card reading devices. I've never heard of any security issues with them, but are there any precautions to take?

How often is a scam carried out by a genuine employee of a bank or card company? I once had to ring my credit card company (using a number I was sure was theirs) and was concerned that after the usual four or five security questions the person I was connected to started asking for passwords, PIN, etc. I refused to answer, asked to be put through to his manager and he quickly said I had failed security and hung up on me. I rang the bank back and they confirmed that I had been speaking to one of their employees, and sounded concerned when I told them of my call - I hope it was investigated further. It made me wonder how often scams can be carried out by genuine bank employees (perhaps casual or temporary ones) who have access to our records.

How safe are Apple products really? Weve changed to Apple, so an iMac, iPad and iPhone. Apple tell us no added security protection is needed. After years of Windows products with virus protection packages this feels, well, odd and very insecure. Is it true, or do we need to add something to the iMac and iPad?

I was meant to come across this thread today wasn't I ?
Just yesterday something very strange happened, in the space of 15 minutes, around 1200 emails arrived in my account, my normally quiet email account that I've had for years and rarely give out. Every single one of these emails was from a website where an account had been created using my email and of the couple that I checked, they were genuine websites. Why on earth would someone open all these accounts using my email address ?! On top of the 1200 that arrived in my inbox, another 2200odd arrived in my junk folder.
Things got even stranger when I got a text from Paypal, giving me a security code (the kind you get if you want to change passwords etc), the strange thing about this is that my Paypal account isn't linked to the email account above ! Can you please tell me what on earth is going on ?
Can you advise how I can avoid something like this happening again ? My passwords have never been weak so I really am dumbfounded !
Needless to say, I've changed all passwords and added security information.
Many thanks in advance

What can people do with your name and address? Surely it's easy to come across that kind of information

What can I do to stop the amount of phishing emails I get. I must get about 5 a day

How likely is it to get your money back if you have been scammed?

What is the best way to protect myself against fraud online? Are there any apps or programs that you recommend me to download?

I just hang up on what I think are fraudulent calls and then add them to spam calls via BT, should I do more?

Twice my bank has picked up someone trying to fraudulently use my card details online. The second time, it was a new card that I had only used 7 times in local shops and a petrol station. I had not given my details out to anyone or made any online payments. How could someone have still got hold of my card details and tried to make an online payment in the US?

How can you tell if an email offering a prize is genuine when you have entered competitions for the same prizes.

I often get calls telling me that I have a problem with my internet connection and that they are calling from BT - we're not with BT. Once they even told me that I was going to cease to be connected to the internet after the weekend and I needed their help. Presumably they want to sell something to 'protect' me. How would I know if there was a genuine call regarding the internet connection.

I would like to know how to spot scam or fraudulent emails.

Can the camera on my laptop allow hackers to see whats happening in my house?

Is it safe to share your name, address, date of birth and telephone number over the internet? For example for competitions etc