Five things to do to avoid becoming a victim of fraud

More than one million cases of financial fraud where victims lost money were detected in the first half of 2016, which was a 53 peer cent increase compared with a year earlier, according to Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK).

There were 1,007,094 such incidents between January and June - equating to one every 15 seconds - made up of payment card fraud, cheque fraud and online and telephone banking fraud.

FFA UK, along with major banks and financial services providers, has launched a campaign called Take Five, which encourages people to pause and think before they respond to any financial requests or hand over any personal details. This pausing could be by stopping a phone conversation or delaying a reply to an email or text

The Take Five campaign asks consumers to help protect themselves from financial fraud by remembering some advice:

1. Never disclose security details, such as your Pin or full password.

2. Do not assume an email request or caller is genuine - people are not always who they say they are.

3. Do not be rushed - a bank or genuine organisation will not mind waiting to give you time to stop and think.

4. Listen to your instincts - if something feels wrong then it is usually right to pause and question it.

5. Stay in control - have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for information.