FARMERS and landowners are being warned to be alert for suspicious phone calls, texts and emails from fraudsters after the Rural Payments Agency began the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments process on Tuesday.

With the majority of these payments expected to be made before the end of December, and all by the close of January 2016, farmers are likely to be seen as very attractive targets for phone scammers over the festive period.

Criminals often call and claim that fraud has been detected on a business or personal bank account and that immediate action is required to remedy the situation. The victim is then tricked into handing over key financial information or transferring funds into a so-called ‘safe account’, which is controlled by the fraudster.

According to data from Financial Fraud Action UK, the first half of 2015 saw financial fraud losses rise by six percent.

CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn said: “A lot of information as to who receives BPS payments is publically available, which makes farmers and landowners increasingly vulnerable.

“Criminals can target specific individuals and sound very convincing because of the large amount of data they have at their finger tips. Everyone involved in running a rural business needs to be aware of the risk.”