Don’t get caught in the courier scam

Bank customers should beware of the 'courier scam', says Tim Bennett. Plus, a round-up this week’s personal finance news.

Watch out for the "courier scam", says Simon Read in The Independent. In the first six months of last year, watchdog Financial Fraud Action UK estimates it cost 1,600 people a total of £7.5m. The scam is simple enough you receive a call supposedly from your bank saying your credit or debit card needs collecting and replacing after fraud has been detected on your account. You're asked to call your bank to confirm this, without realising the bogus caller hasn't hung up. In the next call they ask for your Pin number. Armed with this and your card they are free to spend your money. So be warned collecting cards and asking for Pins over the phone is something banks don't do.

London house prices remain on the rise as overseas buyers continue to see the capital as a safe haven from eurozone woes. According to Hometrack, a research firm, prices rose 0.7% in March, the strongest monthly uplift since February 2010. Three-fifths of London postcodes saw prices rise, with properties spending the shortest average time on the market five weeks since October 2007. Richard O'Donnell, Hometrack's director of research, quoted on Thisismoney.co.uk, sees more rises on the way as the Cyprus crisis "will only serve to further boost the flow of international funds into the capital". The national picture, however, remains more mixed, with just a fifth of postcodes seeing price rises in England and Wales and the overall rise a more muted 0.3% for March.

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