A cold-calling fraudster can sound very convincing, but there may be some warning signs that could help you spot that someone is about to attempt to steal your cash.

To avoid falling victim to a scam, people are being urged to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign - which is backed by major banks and financial services providers.

Previous research by Take Five delved into the techniques financial fraudsters commonly use to trick people into handing over financial or personal information over the phone, often when they are posing as someone in authority such as a fraud detection manager or a police officer.

It found that while many people are more likely to trust a stranger over the phone if they sound like a "nice person", in fact a caller acknowledging someone's concerns and sounding apologetic can be the hallmark of a scam.

Looking at evidence from real-life scam phone calls, it found fraudsters will use snippets of information about their targets, gathered together from different sources, to sound like they know what they are talking about.

Alarm bells should also start ringing if the caller suddenly switches tempo and starts piling on the pressure - perhaps by creating a false sense of urgency and making their victim think they need to act quickly so they have no time to think it through.

If you start to have doubts or something does not feel right, put the phone down.

There are also some common types of scam to watch out for.

These include purchase scams, where victims pay up-front for goods, often after seeing them on auction websites or social media that are never received.

Phones, computers and cars are advertised at low prices to attract buyers. Criminals also advertise fake holidays and concert tickets. A warning sign could be if you are asked to pay by directly bank transfer instead of a website's secure payment options.

People may also be persuaded to part with their cash after being convinced this will result in the release of a much larger payment back to them, for example after being tricked into believing they have won an overseas lottery or that valuables are waiting for them at customs and a fee must be paid to release the goods.

Here are some general tips from Take Five to remember:

- A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your Pin, full password or to move money to another account.

- Only give out your personal or financial details to use a service that you have given your consent to, that you trust and that you are expecting to be contacted by.

- Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.

- Always question uninvited approaches in case it is a scam. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.