The festive season should be a time of celebration, not financial stress – but unfortunately, Christmas is also the time of year when fraud and Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams surge across the UK. At Complex Law, we help individuals and businesses recover losses from UK bank accounts every day – including cases where the bank has already rejected the claim. Our specialist team understands how devastating these scams can be, both financially and emotionally, and we’re here to help you stay protected during one of the riskiest times of the year.
What makes fraud more common at Christmas?
Criminals take advantage of the season’s distractions – they know people are shopping more, sending money to loved ones, donating to charities, and juggling busy schedules. This creates the perfect conditions for scams to slip under the radar. In previous years, we’ve seen spikes in several types of scams around the pre-Christmas period, including:
- Urgent payment requests that “must be done today”
- Fake delivery texts (Royal Mail, DPD, Evri)
- Bogus gift card or refund scams
- Charity impersonation scams
- Fake holiday or “experience” deals
- Invoice redirections during busy year-end accounting
- Romance and impersonation scams targeting isolated individuals
Complex Law’s anti-scam checklist
Whether you’re shopping online, paying a business invoice, or sending money to family, staying alert is critical at this busy time. Our team has put together a few tips to protect yourself (which apply year–round, not just at Christmas). Share them with friends and family – particularly older or vulnerable individuals who, sadly, are more likely to be targeted by criminals.
- Double-check requests for urgent payments – especially if they come via email or text.
- Do not click links in unexpected delivery notifications.
- Use strong, unique passwords for all financial accounts.
- Verify bank details over the phone before paying invoices.
- Be suspicious of anything that feels rushed, emotional or too good to be true.
- Enable two-factor authentication everywhere possible.
- Keep device and antivirus software up to date.
- Speak to someone you trust before transferring anything significant.
I think I might have been scammed – what do I do?
If you’ve already transferred money to a suspected scammer, don’t panic, and don’t feel ashamed. Fraudsters are skilled manipulators who can engineer pressure, fear, urgency and credibility. Plenty of tech-literate and commercially savvy people have fallen victim in a moment of confusion or distraction. The best thing you can do is, having realised what’s happened, get the right legal support to try and recover some or all of your losses.
Even though you authorised a payment to someone who turned out to be a scammer, you may still be entitled to recover your losses if the bank didn’t do enough to protect you. You may have a strong claim if:
- Payments were unusual for your normal banking behaviour
- Money was sent from an account that is typically inactive
- The payment went overseas, despite your business operating solely in the UK
- Your bank ignored obvious red flags
- You were pressured to send money urgently or secretly
- Your bank failed to follow proper fraud-prevention checks
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