Welcome to a week of scams awareness

I think it needs far more publicity than Which? can give it. I too get emails about scams but you have to register with the organisation, and I wondr how many do.

I would like to see the equivalent of public information films broadcast on tv at peak viewing times. There might then be fewer people who are not aware of scams.

I agree with you malcolm and see the Which? logo on many TV adverts these days and I barely notice adverts.

Maybe a condition of use should be a percentage of adverts dedicated to scam awareness.

Is it more useful to feature scams in the storylines of soap operas and other popular TV programmes? It has been tried.

Yes. “We interrupt this gripping drama to bring you news of a beastly scam in which people send off for a pair of rubbish Ray-Bans at a knock-down price and end up with a stylish pair of luxury moccasins they didn’t want. Keep watching to see whose hands were on the blood-stained putty knife.” That was a public service announcement from the Midsomer Constabulary [sponsored by Fatebook].

I’m thinking of a storyline where a popular character is the victim of a popular scam and we get to know the details. The problem with simple educational material is that it helps only those who are receptive.

Excellent idea.

Thanks John.
I have now updated and reposted the checklist:
https://conversation.which.co.uk/scams/citizens-advice-pandemic-scams/#comment-1621694

Toby – Not at all – I share your concern. How did you become aware that the responder was at home? Were you informed at the outset and given the option of speaking to someone in the office?

I had to call my bank [Nationwide building society] the other day and it occurs to me now that the person answering and noting my verification information could have been sitting in his kitchen with other people in sight of his PC. He had to look up my recent spending history to clarify a declined transaction which he then cleared. In that instance my name, address, account codes and available balance would have been visible. Or, without the general observation and personal supervision of being in an office, he could have written down or printed off my data and passed it on. I also wonder whether the conversation was being recorded for monitoring purposes as is usually the case.

If working from home [or living at work as some call it] is going to be the new normal then there needs to be a code of practice that customers can read and be aware of [vide Nationwide’s announcement yesterday that non-branch staff will in future be allowed to work wherever they like – at home, in a branch, or at the main office].

A number of questions come to mind: Will staff have to specify their location each day as part of their log-in and control procedures? Will there be rules on privacy when working at home? Will they be required to log-out when they have a comfort break or receive visitors? Will there be any remote supervision of their computer and telephone activity? Can the customer demand a video link so they can check the situation? What on-line and telephone activity will be permitted to take place outside the regular office hours? How will absence on leave be controlled [e.g. log-in denied on authorised holiday dates]?

Some staff might live in accommodation shared with others who are unrelated and have no special allegiance to the employee. It would be interesting to know whether the home working arrangements are subjected to any suitability assessments and approval process. I trust that customer-facing staff still in their probationary period will not be allowed to handle customer business unsupervised.

I would at the very least expect any companies in the financial services sector to carry out a security risk assessment in each case before making home working a routine and flexible arrangement.

I think everyone should return to their previous permanent place of employment for a four-week period after the current restrictions end before new arrangements are introduced in an organised manner with the necessary security and privacy protections in place. I am concerned that many organisations could slide into a more informal style of operating making it difficult to reassert control if circumstances justify it and to identify the causes of problems or breaches that might occur. The management will no doubt be able to trust existing staff as they will have known them for some time but the same might not apply to new recruits.

I am now asking myself whether I want to continue to be served by a building society that will let its personnel work remotely from the management and supervisory protocols.

A pertinent comment, TobyHayes.
@gmartin, George, something Which? should be concerned about. Worth them doing a contribution on banking security with staff working from home?

@gmartin – George: I echo Malcolm’s suggestion. Yes, please do a topic on this – you’ve got some material to feed off above and, unlike me, you and your colleagues have some practical experience of working from home.

Ditto

OMG, I’m running to the bank tomorrow to draw out my money and will store it under my mattress.

I bank with First Direct and always have a brief chat when I call them. It was in the course of the conversation that I learned the customer service assistant was working from home. I accepted that during the pandemic but expected them to return to their offices shortly. Then I heard the Nationwide announcement and was concerned. That was when I checked on here to see if any others were concerned.

I expect the computer logs out if there is no activity for a short time, like for making a cuppa or a toilet break. I would also hope that printing any details from a banking computer programme would not be possible. It’s the fact that people not employed by the bank could see customer records that worries me the most. That could be the source material for scams. Criminals live somewhere and they could be house sharing with your banker.

I’ve always assumed that bank staff would have been set up to work at home during the pandemic.

As an engineer, I’ve always done some of my work from home.

Down the years, different employers and clients have put in appropriate physical and procedural security measures for this, when it was allowed.

I’ve also worked on other much more secure projects, where all work was done on site and none of the computers used could be connected to the Internet.

I see it as essential for each company or other organisation to take appropriate measures to ensure security of data and to prevent theft when money is involved, but in many jobs there needs to be trust.

Like Derek I sometimes worked at home and my employer – a university – allowed me to access their computer system from home. The access privileges were given to staff strictly according to their needs and all access was logged. I was trusted and did not betray the trust but had it been found that someone had been making use of confidential information I expect the culprit could have been found.

I hope that anyone working in a shared office will at least lock their screen before going for a coffee break.