What’s the ‘Take Five to Stop Fraud’ campaign?
Our lives have never been busier, which means scams can sneak up on us when we least expect it. ‘Take Five’ is a national fraud prevention campaign in the UK that reminds us to stop and take a moment, before taking an action that could harm us. For example, sending money to someone we don’t know.
To help people remember the risks, Take Five suggests three steps:
1. Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
2. Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
3. Protect: Contact your bank immediately (get in touch via the Monzo app) if you think you’ve been scammed and report it to Action Fraud.
Creating moments of pause to protect our customers
Authorised Push Payment scams (APP scams) happen when someone is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as someone else. Examples of this include Purchase Scams, which trick people into sending money via bank transfer, to buy something that doesn’t exist.
We know it’s becoming even more difficult to spot purchase scams, especially with a growing number of online platforms to buy and sell.
At Monzo, we’ve taken the ‘Take Five’ ethos and built it into our app. We encourage moments of pause in high risk situations, making it difficult for fraudsters to take advantage of panic. And to directly help combat purchase scams, we’ve focused on customer experience, using quantitative and qualitative insights to inform our designs.
We’ve also been running experiments to understand how effective different approaches are. This includes building new warning screens to create positive friction between a customer and a risky payment. You can find out more about our approach, and how we worked with our customers on our community forum.
Taking a proactive stance against fraud, and building clear effective warnings in our app has already prevented 55% more fraud for Monzo customers during 2024.
Spotting and preventing ticket scams
One Monzo customer recently told NerdWallet how she avoided a Taylor Swift ticket scam after being warned by one of our new screens: “I got as far as creating a payment link, but after reading Monzo’s in-app warnings about scams, I decided not to share it.”
Fraudsters try to take advantage of people searching for tickets for must-see events, from hopeful Swifties, to the recently announced Oasis tour, expected to break records. When demand for tickets is much higher than availability, people are set to be disappointed, with scammers ready to take advantage.
Most of these scams will start on social media, where fraudsters can create fake profiles to sell tickets which actually don’t exist
The scam activity intensifies both when tickets first go on sale, and closer to the time the event takes place
Ticket scams typically involve fake adverts, posts or listings on social media, offering tickets or access to sold-out events
Victims are asked to pay up-front for tickets, but the scammers then disappear and the buyer is left without the tickets they’ve paid (a typically inflated price) for
When interviewed about ticket scams by the BBC, Ben Donaldson, Managing Director of economic crime at UK Finance said "[the] Olympics and Taylor Swift are the two biggest examples". It's estimated that £1m was lost by Taylor Swift fans ahead of her London dates in Summer 2024.
Staying alert
Buy from trusted merchants where you can check verified reviews
Always do some research on the company you're buying from and only purchase tickets from a reputable source. Look to see if the artist has named official ticketing vendors so you know where to buy from. Options include the venue, the promoter (such as Live Nation), an official agent (such as Ticketmaster).
If you buy from a ticket exchange look for the STAR logo
This means they’re a member of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, where they’ve signed up to strict governing standards.
Avoid paying by bank transfer
Sending money to someone online is just like giving them a handful of cash. Always pay by card or via the official website as these methods of payment offer more protection (like Section 75 or chargeback).
If something looks too good to be true, it probably is
Especially if you receive an unsolicited email, text or other communication.
Trust your instincts
Take a moment to reflect on the situation, or ask for advice from someone else, this will help you end a conversation if something doesn’t feel right.
Industry-leading security to prevent fraud
At Monzo we’ve always invested in industry-leading security to keep customers safe and protected. From in-app card freeze, to our innovative Call Status tool that lets you know if you’re talking to a scammer in real time.
Earlier this year we launched a trio of industry-first security controls which you can add as an extra layer of protection on payments and Pot withdrawals over a daily allowance. This helps stop fraudsters in their tracks, even if they get hold of your phone.
This new feature is designed to give you an optional additional layer of safety when making bank transfers or withdrawing from your savings. It will also make it harder for fraudsters to take money out of your account if you’re a target of shoulder surfing, impersonation scams, or if your phone is stolen.
We’ll keep you up to date with the new ways we’re tackling fraud and financial crime here at Monzo and we want to keep sharing our work in a transparent way – without giving criminals the opportunity to use this information to their advantage.
As we continue investing in these areas, we’re committed to keeping you in the loop with our progress. Thank you all for helping us shape our interventions and customer protections with your feedback, suggestions and challenges. Head to the community forum to have your say.