Every month, we’ll be looking at the most prevalent scams or those that have been identified by law enforcement agencies like Action Fraud and listing them in our blog.

The list below is not exhaustive, and there are thousands of scam emails, text messages and cold call scams out there, and you should always remain vigilant. This list shows the scam warnings from this month, and displays those we feel you ought to know about based on what we have discovered via Action Fraud, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre.

Many people ignore or delete emails that look like scams or phishing attempts. But actually, reporting them to Action Fraud allows them to gather intelligence and then announce scam warnings. Forward suspicious emails to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk

Most phone providers are part of a scheme that allows customers to report suspicious text messages for free by forwarding it to 7726. If you forward a text to 7726, your provider can investigate the origin of the text and arrange to block or ban the sender, if it’s found to be malicious.

More information about how to report scams - including phone scams and fake websites - is available on the Action Fraud website: Report a phishing attempt

Here are the scam warnings or the most prevalent scams this month.

Fake DVLA emails

Fake pet adverts

Bank transfer criminality

Mandate fraud

Scam texts claiming to be from the DWP

Reporting

Report all Fraud and Cybercrime to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).