Addressing the rise in this type of fraud, Louise Baxter, the head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team and Friends Against Scams, said: “Lots of people may feel immune to scams, but these ‘Friend in need’ scams are particularly effective as they prey on our kindness and desire to help friends and family.
“Scammers send messages that appear to come from a friend or family member asking for personal information, money, or a six-digit PIN number.
“The messages are sent from the compromised accounts of your friends, so they look as if they’re coming from someone you know, or from an unknown number claiming to be a friend who has lost their phone or been ‘locked out’ of their account.”
On its website, Lloyds provided general advice to its customers about how they can spot the signs that they are being targeted as part of a scam.
