'I KNEW HE WAS SCAMMING ME it was a lucky escape'

Rav Wilding is no stranger to dealing with criminals and fraudsters. He shares his expertise.

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What got you invested in highlighting the rise of scamming, and have you ever been fooled by a scammer yourself?

With a background in policing, I spent many years fighting against criminality but I saw people lose huge amounts to fraud. It only made me want to help people more, so when I was approached to do the series Scam Interceptors, it was a brilliant opportunity. It was so well-received and we've been able to help a lot of people along the way.

A few years ago, I was called by someone claiming to be ringing from the service BT OpenReach. I'd been having issues with my internet, so it made sense that someone might be calling. But it turned out to be a complete coincidence and after about 10 minutes on the call, I realised they hadn't addressed me by my name once. When he couldn't confirm my name, I knew he was scamming me and hung up the phone immediately.

It was a lucky escape - if the call had continued, I could have downloaded software onto my phone giving him access to all my personal information.

There's a chance that even if the caller had known my name, it could have still been a scam, but the fact that they didn't was cause for concern.

What are some of the more common tactics used by scammers right now?