THE VERIFICATION DESK
Plain-English scam and fraud awareness, evidence-led checks and practical next steps. We explain common warning signs, test claims against reliable sources and make clear where the evidence is uncertain.
Latest scam & fraud guides
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The £100 Oil Voucher Message: Check Before You Click
PSNI has warned of cost-of-living scams in Northern Ireland, including fake texts telling people they must pay a fee or enter bank details to claim a £100 oil voucher.
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Car-Finance Claim Messages: Verify Before You Respond
The FCA added new car-finance and PCP-related websites to its Warning List on 22 September 2026. Before responding to a claims message, verify who is actually contacting you.
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A Company Number Is Not Proof: How to Verify a Business Website
A real Companies House number can be copied onto an unrelated website. The FCA has just published a warning illustrating exactly why a company number should never be treated as proof of identity.
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Debt Help or Sales Funnel? Five Red Flags Before You Agree
The FCA has warned that people seeking debt help may be pressured towards fee-charging solutions that are not suitable for them. Here are five checks to make before agreeing to anything.
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Screenshots Are Not Proof: Building a Defensible Evidence Trail
What screenshots can establish, what they cannot, and how to strengthen them with context, provenance and corroboration.
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Can a Deepfake Detector Prove a Recording Is Fake?
Why automated detector scores are evidence to assess—not verdicts—and how to conduct a stronger authenticity test.
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Verify Before You Pay: Five Independent Checks
Five independent checks for testing authority, obligation, destination, identity and context before releasing payment.
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Fraud First Aid: What to Do in the First 30 Minutes
A disciplined first-response sequence to stop further loss, secure accounts, preserve evidence and begin a reliable incident record.
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The Bank-Detail Change Verification Test
A practical control for verifying supplier bank-detail changes before money moves.
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Preserve the Evidence: A Fraud Incident Checklist
How to build a structured, testable fraud evidence pack without losing originals, context or chronology.
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The 30-Minute Subscription Audit
A structured 30-minute audit to expose recurring subscription costs, reduce financial leakage and restore control.
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Can You Trust This Voice Note?
A practical evidence-led framework for testing executive voice notes, cloned-audio claims and urgent payment instructions.
How findings are graded
V1 Verified — independently established from authoritative evidence. V2 Strongly Supported — multiple reliable sources converge. V3 Indicative — credible indicators exist, but alternatives remain. V4 Inconclusive — insufficient evidence for a reliable conclusion. V5 Unsupported — the claim lacks adequate supporting evidence.
