LEE BOYCE: We must stay one step ahead of the scammers

As long as there are scams, you’ll be snooping around Money Mail to warn our loyal readers of the dangers.

Our hunt for these unscrupulous fraudsters turns into a game of cat and mouse. As soon as we discover a vicious ruse, they take a different tack.

A year ago, we revealed how a WhatsApp messaging scam spread like wildfire. The so-called “mom and dad scam” swept through the country, hacking at victims who believed they were helping their children financially.

Our report sparked a flurry of media stories, alerting millions of potential victims to the ruse.

So perhaps it’s no wonder scammers have turned the “mother and father scam” into the “son and daughter scam” – as our report reveals today.

What worries me is how scammers can find information about you for a few quid from various sources, including on the dark web.

They use this to build trust and add a fake layer of authenticity to calls and messages.

This week, customer information was stolen in a data breach at retailer JD Sports. Some ten million names, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers have now fallen into the wrong hands.

As one insider put it, “The spoils of this massive cyber-attack could be the data that launches a thousand scams.”

Even knowing the last few digits of someone’s credit or debit card can be enough to pull off a trust trick, the insider adds. So treat absolutely all text messages, phone calls and emails with caution. Take your time and remember that fraudsters are slick talkers and often carry out sophisticated criminal operations.

And tell friends and family about the new “son and daughter scam.” A scam shared is a scam halved.

Rolex Reds

Thanks for all your great emails about our recent Never Go Broke series.

In part one, we showed you how to make a ton of money by selling unwanted stuff in your home. Then last week we revealed the secrets to hunting for bargains at charity shops, car boot sales and online auctions – which you can then sell for a profit.

For example, if you know what to look for, winter coats bought at thrift stores can often fetch much more on Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, Depop, or eBay.

A reader, Dave, wrote to me that his friend bought a coffee pot full of wristwatches at a car boot sale in the mid-1990s. No one could get the lid off so he paid £4.

When he got home, he held the pot over a plastic bucket and hit it gently with a hammer. Inside was a Rolex with a black dial. In the early 2000s Dave bought it from his friend for £400.

It didn’t look like anything special—just a classic late-’50s winding watch, Dave says—but he had a hunch. After closer inspection by a specialist, it turned out to be a rare model… and worth well into the four figures.

It’s unlikely the rest of us will be as lucky. But the seductive unpredictability of car trunks and thrift stores will always keep me a fan.

Off grid success

“I saved £1.24 on my energy bill by walking my dog.” That’s what a friend told me after participating in the demand flexibility service between 9am and 10am on Monday.

This scheme pays you to save energy at certain times of the day. My friend was invited to participate in his energy company’s first morning session.

Supplier Octopus Energy says customers cut UK energy use by around 450MWh last Monday and Tuesday – the equivalent of Bristol and Liverpool going off-grid for an hour.

Octopus adds that it has paid £1 million to its 400,000 attendees for last Tuesday evening’s event and customers have cut their consumption by an average of 60 per cent. Impressive numbers worth barking about, I say.

l.boyce@dailymail.co.uk