FRAUD and scams were the topics of conversation for a Vale of Clwyd group.

Members of the Denbigh and District Probus Club welcomed Mark Wilson, manager of the Denbigh and Mold Principality Building Society branches, to the group's March meeting.

Mr Wilson attended the event in the Oriel Hotel, St Asaph to speak about fraud and scams awareness.

NEWSLETTER: Get the latest stories from the Denbighshire Free Press sent straight to your inbox by signing up here

Mark, who initially qualified with a degree in applied ecology, worked for a sub-prime lending company for 10 years before moving to the Principality Building Society.

He has been a branch manager for 13 years and is also a mental health advocate, mental health first aider and coaches the under-10s' team at Clwb Rygbi Dinbych.

READ MORE: Rallying to the cause with Ian at Denbigh Probus Club

Mark explained how he and his staff have a duty of care to their customers and ask them questions and initiate discussions to encourage them to reflect and think about payments and withdrawals they are making to try to help them avoid being taken in and losing money because of fraud.

He explained about authorised push payment fraud, which includes malicious mis-direction and malicious payee and went into detail on investment, romance, impersonation, invoice, CEO and advance fee scams.

The signs of a potential scams were also discussed such as unsolicited contact, urgency of transaction, sounding too good or too bad to be true, keeping the payment(s) secret, they cannot meet you in person and unconventional payment method.

Mark also gave advice on how people can protect themselves.

Members found the talk and information really useful and a timely reminder to be on guard against all types of fraud on a daily basis.

Denbigh and District Probus Club welcomes new members to join the group for monthly meetings.

These are held at the Oriel Hotel, St Asaph, where members enjoy lunch, friendship, and a talk from a guest speaker.

For further information, go to denbighprobus.com or contact membership officer Gareth Williams via julmwilliams1974@gmail.com or 07881 783735.

The next meeting will be on Monday, April 3, when Mary Steel will talk about the Guernsey girls' evacuation to Denbigh during the Second World War.