Revealed: the 5 strangest scams of 2022
This year, scammers have looked to exploit the cost of living crisis, playing on fears around our household finances at a time of rising bills and soaring inflation.
But among the more convincing and dangerous frauds, we've been given some moments of light relief by the more inept scams cooked up by less-sophisticated criminals.
Read on to learn about five of the more bemusing scams we've seen in 2022.
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1. 'Energy-saving' gadgets
In early 2022, consumers were tantalised by claims that an energy-saving device could cut their electricity bills by ‘up to 90%’.
The product was Voltex, previously known as Motex. When Which? investigated Motex, plus four other similar ‘energy-saving’ devices for sale on Amazon and eBay, none passed our safety tests. In fact, they were so poorly made they were at risk of causing fires or electric shocks.
We also found no evidence that any would actually save energy. Motex has since been the subject of a national product recall.
In a separate case, the £40 EcoDriver – described as a ‘chip tuning box’ that plugs into the on-board diagnostics port of a car – claimed to reduce fuel consumption ‘by up to 55%’.
There's no evidence that this works. Remapping your engine can be damaging to your car, increasing fuel consumption rather than decreasing it. In addition, it might invalidate your warranty and insurance.
- When buying electricals, be wary of outlandish claims and look for a CE/UKCA mark to ensure the item meets safety standards before plugging it in or turning it on.
- If you’ve been duped into buying one of these devices, stop using it immediately. If you paid for it on a debit or credit card, you might be able to claim a refund using chargeback or Section 75.
2. Fake Which? CEO
Scammers trying to trick canny Which? employees by posing as our chief executive?
Incredibly, this did happen, although the sense of audacity was undermined by poor spelling and grammar.
In January, members of the Which? social media team with publicly available email addresses received a missive ‘from’ Anabel Hoult, saying: ‘Hope you don’t have so much on your plate? I have a task for you. Reply my mail so I can concise you all about it.’
It was immediately identified as a scam – not least because it originated from a non-Which? email address. However, impersonation emails such as this are not always so crude and easily identifiable.
- Eight in 10 data breaches involve an element of human error, according to US telecoms giant Verizon, which can include employees handing out sensitive information in response to convincing phishing emails.
- Unexpected requests should be verified, either face-to-face with the requester or via a call on a trusted number.
3. Offshore lover
When Becky Holmes’ new partner, off shore oil rig worker Zeltinis, said he needed £3,000 to come and visit her in person for the first time (they had only met online), she wasn’t content to sit at home waiting.
She boarded a boat, then a helicopter and documented the journey by sending selfies to Zeltinis, who panicked – and was rather anxious to get the cash.
‘Coming to sea is the last thing I will allow you to do so long [sic] you are my woman,’ he blustered. ‘Please calm your head and let’s look for a way to the get fee [sic].’
‘Zeltinis’ is a romance scammer, who deceives victims into fake relationships in order to steal their money. Holmes, meanwhile, is a writer and Twitter personality skilled at baiting fraudsters in order to expose their methods to the public. The images of her apparently en route to her lovers are dupes designed to inspire panic in fraudsters who fear being confronted or discovered.
Unfortunately, romance frauds rarely have such light-hearted results when practised on lonely, vulnerable and/or bereaved people. Losses from this type of scam increased by almost 31% in the first half of 2022, reaching £16.6m. And that’s not accounting for the emotional agony of victims who learn that their relationship is a lie.
- Scammers are often keen to quiz you about your life, looking for ways to manipulate you, but are reluctant either to meet in person or answer questions about themselves.
- They may also ‘love bomb’ you, showering you with compliments and claiming to fall for you very quickly.
- The biggest red flag is requests for you to send them money.
4. Gazprom-ises
Most of us have heard of the ‘Nigerian Prince’ email scam, but what about the Russian oligarch version? In June 2022, many people received an email ‘from’ Mr Viktor Zubkov, chairman of the board for Russian state energy giant Gazprom.
In the email, he complains of current economic sanctions ‘melted’ [sic] on Russians as a consequence of its war on Ukraine, which are preventing the transfer of Gazprom profits.
The good news is you, the recipient, can help by allowing your personal bank account to receive $160m ‘to escape confiscation by the US Government and the EU’.
Anyone who did take up the offer would be persuaded to pay an upfront fee and/or provide their bank details, with the scammer then disappearing.
- While this request is clearly bogus, allowing your personal account to receive the proceeds of crime or to circumvent international sanctions is money laundering – a serious crime carrying prison terms of up to 14 years.
5. Elon Musk's 'bitcoin giveaway'
‘Please take this email very, very seriously and email: elonmuskdonation99@ gmail.com’, writes billionaire Elon Musk, in an email offering you 10 bitcoin.
Elon says this it’s ‘equal to 4,124,270.00’. Four million what? Who knows – there’s no unit of measurement or currency stated. However, 10 bitcoin is equivalent to around £140,000 at the time of writing.
How did this VIP get your details? They were ‘randomly selected from a European email database’ in a way which seems very much non-compliant with data protection laws.
As with the Gazprom email, this is likely another ‘advance fee’ fraud, which aims to con you out of an upfront payment and probably your personal details, too.
- Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency scams have surged in recent years, with Action Fraud recording losses of £190m in 2021 – more than double that in 2020.
- Cryptocurrency is best thought of as an extreme diversification strategy for experienced investors, rather than something you should plough significant sums of money into.
Which? Money Podcast: strangest scams of 2022
In a recent episode of the Which? Money Podcast, we delved deeper into the strangest scams of the year and discussed the impact that scams can have on consumers.
A version of this article originally appeared in January's issue of Which? Magazine. Join Which? before 3 January 2023 for 50% off an annual membership.
