One in three high net worth individuals targeted by scammers – as M&S confirms customer data theft

• 1 in 3 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) have fallen victim to financial scams or cybercrime in the last six months, new research shows

• Nearly 30% of scams begin on social media, while a fifth of victims were targeted via email

• Significant financial losses reported: nearly 15% lost over £25,000

Scammers are targeting the UK’s HNWIs, with a third (33%) falling victim to financial scams or cybercrime in the last six months, according to the latest Saltus Wealth Index Report.

The findings come as Marks & Spencer (M&S) confirms its recent cyberattack has led to customer data being stolen in a breach. 

M&S has announced it will be contacting affected customers by email, and with Saltus data showing that nearly a fifth of HNWI victims were targeted by email scams (19%), there is the possibility that fraudsters could exploit this and target customers by impersonating the brand.

Email was the most common method of initial contact by scammers after social media (30%) – the third was phone calls (19%).

The Saltus Wealth Index Report – which surveys 2,000 people in the UK with assets of £250,000 or more – found that 11% had been scammed or hacked in the past six months, while a further 22% had been victims previously. 

Worryingly, many respondents were uncertain about the nature or extent of the scams. 10% of all HNWIs were not sure if they’d lost anything as a result of scams and 6% of victims did not know how much they had lost.

Among those who knew they had been scammed, many have suffered substantial financial losses, with four in ten (44%) lost over £2,000, one in seven (15%) lost more than £25,000, while one in 20 (6%) lost between £50,001 and £100,000. 

Mike Stimpson, Partner at wealth management firm Saltus, said: “Cybercriminals know that high net worth individuals represent high-value targets, and incidents like the M&S data breach give scammers a new opportunity to strike. We could well see a rise in phishing attempts, impersonation scams and fraudulent messages claiming to be from trusted brands in the short term. 

“It is essential that individuals are aware of the methods scammers use and are vigilant against any emails, calls or other contact with people or brands they don’t know. The default position should be that someone contacting them out of the blue is a scammer, and until steps are taken to verify the identity of the contact a cautious approach is critical, particularly in the coming weeks as the true impact of recent high profile data breaches at M&S and others becomes clear.”