Cold call scam targeting ‘vulnerable’ retailers

A retailer has spoken out after receiving an important warning about a new cold call scam.

Action Fraud recently sent out a warning that fraudsters were impersonating mobile phone providers, contacting people around the UK to offer phone upgrades on a low monthly payment contract.

Scammers were convincing victims to make a purchase, securing their personal and financial details. As Retail Express reported in its April 19 issue, retailers are particularly likely to be targeted by cold callers and scams.

“As retailers we’re incredibly busy, and don’t always listen to the conversation as we should,” said Stuart McClymont, owner of Mac’s Newsagents in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, who shared the warning in a retailer Facebook group.

“Scams can be something that we fall into because of sheer busyness. When the trickster on the other end of the phone sounds very confident, retailers can be vulnerable to fraud.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that a proposed database of micro-businesses could mean retailers would be hounded by even more cold calls than usual.