Fraud and tax gain ground in the midweek money sections

The big hitters of last week – insurance and savings – noticed a marked decline this week. Although plummeting from its lofty perch of 33%, savings did, however, manage to sneak in to 20% of the stories this week.
In the meantime, fraud and scams jumped from 5% last week up to 12%. The Express (@dailyexpressuk) warned that the Christmas season was prime time for con artists, especially when shopping on the web. The Mirror (@dailymirrornews) looked at a utilities-based scam where conmen offer ‘discount’ pre-payment metres which are actually illegal. This warning is quite topical as many will be on the lookout for cheaper deals in the face of potential rate rises.
Tax also noticed a rise, mirroring fraud’s rise from 5-12% in a week. The Express led with some advice on how to cut an inheritance tax bill. Keeping on the tax theme, the Express also looked at how we can beat the VAT hike which is coming in January. In a nutshell – buy big items now.
After disappearing off the scoreboard altogether last week, investment stories accounted for 8% this week. James Coney in The Daily Mail (@jimconey) looked at how to invest in Asia, which can be ‘fraught with peril’, without risking your savings. Paul Farrow in The Daily Telegraph (@Daily_Telegraph) looked at the hazards of market timing and asks if it is better to be a ‘lone wolf’ investor.
 And the scores this week are: