Avoiding Scams and Changes to Wills

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hundreds of millions of pounds was stolen from people in 2024 by thieves who tricked them, manipulated them, and then drained their bank accounts. The latest figures from UK Finance show that more than £450m was handed over to criminals in that way. That was slightly less than in 2023 but there were fewer cases - down 20% to just under 186,000. So those who were robbed lost more - an average of more than £2,400. What kind of scams were most common and what can you do to avoid them?

There have been several high profile cyber attacks on businesses recently. But apart from downed deliveries and empty shelves, what impact can they have on other areas of a business that weren’t directly attacked?

Major changes to the laws about making a will have been proposed to the government by the Law Commission. Its job is to recommend changes in the laws in England and Wales to improve or simplify them.

And what should people do if they think they’re owed compensation by their energy company following the prepayment meter scandal?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Sarah Rogers Researcher: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast at 12pm on Saturday 31st May, 2025)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, podcast fan.
0:03.0	Consider this your invite to the UK's biggest podcasting party.
0:06.7	We're heading to Sheffield from the 4th to the 6th of July
0:09.0	for the BBC Sounds Fringe at the Crossed Wires Festival.
0:12.8	We'll be joined by some of the biggest names in podcasting,
0:15.3	including Sarah Cox, Charlie Hedges, Russell Kane,
0:18.4	and some bloke called Greg James doing his radio four show called Rewinder.
0:23.2	You can watch live shows of your favourite podcasts, and the best part is free.
0:28.0	To book your free tickets, go to crossedwires.org slash fringe.
0:34.2	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:40.4	Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.
0:44.8	Big changes are proposed in the laws about making a will in England and Wales.
0:49.3	In future, 16-year-olds may be able to make one and do it electronically.
0:54.2	What should you do if you're afraid your money has disappeared after a cyber attack?
0:58.3	And tens of thousands of energy customers will be given compensation after being wrongly forced to have a prepayment meter.
1:02.1	But first, hundreds of millions of pounds were stolen from people last year by thieves,
1:06.7	who tricked them, manipulated them and, in some some cases drained their bank accounts. The latest
1:11.9	figures from UK finance show that more than £450 million was handed over to criminals in that
1:18.0	way. That was slightly less than the year before, but there were fewer cases down 20%, so those who
1:23.6	were robbed lost more, an average of over £2,400.
1:32.0	But the losses on investment scams were much higher, up by a third,
1:35.5	costing each victim an average £18,500.
	...

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