QR Code Scams and Bank Account Access

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 825 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The number of reported scams involving QR codes has nearly quadrupled in less than three years according to figures seen by Money Box. The data was revealed by City of London Police and gathered from reports made to Action Fraud. The Charted Institute of Trading Standards is warning those reports are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. We'll hear the story of one woman who was scammed after using a QR code in a car park.

The government's cost of living support payments to help people on low incomes cope with rising bills have not been enough to meet the scale of the problem. That's the warning from Parliament's Work and Pensions Committee which this week called on the government to consider widening the eligibility for future payments. The Department for Work and Pensions says the payments have provided a significant financial boost to millions of households and are just one part of the record £94 billion support package - which includes a 10.1% rise to benefits earlier this year and a more than £2 billion Household Support Fund to help with the cost of household essentials.

A young disabled man was denied access to a high interest savings account - after his parents, who have a court order to deal with his finances, tried to open the account. How common is this and what can you do? And what can you expect from the Autumn Statement?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Joanna Morris and Jo Krasner Producer: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Sandra Hardial Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm, Saturday 18th November 2023)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	On a winter's night in 1974, a crime took place that would obsess the nation.
0:07.0	It was an extraordinary news story.
0:09.0	The story of an aristocrat, Lord Lucan, who's said to have killed the family Nanny,
0:14.0	mistaking her for his wife, then somehow just disappeared.
0:18.0	One of the great mysteries in English criminal history. We're still looking for
0:21.7	Lucan. It's honestly one of the most powerful stories of my lifetime. I'm Alex von
0:26.7	Tunselman. This is The Lucan Obsession. Listen on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:36.9	Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.
0:39.3	Cost of living payments to people on low incomes are useful, but just a stopgap and no substitute for an adequate income, say MPs.
0:48.3	It may look like a budget and quack like a budget, but if it's in November, it's an autumn statement.
0:55.4	And NatWest Bank denied a disabled man access to a high-interest savings account.
1:01.3	But first, thieves love new technology.
1:05.1	And the latest development they have hijacked is the QR code.
1:08.5	The number of reported scams involving QR codes has nearly quadrupled
1:13.1	in less than three years. The data revealed to Moneybox by the City of London Police came from
1:18.7	reports made to action fraud. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is warning those reports
1:26.1	are likely to represent just a small fraction
1:28.4	of a big and growing problem. I'll be speaking to its lead officer for scams in a couple of
1:33.5	minutes, but let's hear now from Joanna Morris, from BBC Northeast's digital team who's
1:38.7	been investigating it. And first, I asked her to do what I didn't do and explain to puzzled listeners what QR codes are.
1:46.8	Well, they're a bit like a square version of a barcode.
1:49.7	They can be any size, but they're quite often slightly larger than a postage stamp,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.