Posts

,

2 Years for Illegal investment scheme

In a case bought by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), Virdee was sentenced to 2 years in prison and ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid community work. Virdee pleaded guilty to 4 charges relating to Deceptive consumers, fraud and, the illegal operation of an unauthorised investment scheme, which raked in over half a million pounds.

Virdee ran a company named Dynamic UK Trades Ltd and, between October 2015 and November 2017, he operated a deposit taking scheme without the required authorisation of the FCA. The FCA say he targeted family members and associates; in one instance he convinced … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Cold-Calling Scammers Convicted

A cold-calling company based in Swansea has been caught on CCTV pressurising elderly victims into buying boilers that didn’t exist.

Renewable Energy Centre Ltd, offered victims a free boiler under what they said was a government scheme, all people had to do was pay a one-off upfront fee of either £299 or £399.

The company managed to con 1,200 people into paying this fee, but only three households ever acquired their new boilers. The three elderly victims who did receive their new boiler, were actually unknowingly signed up for monthly repayments lasting 12 months.

A four year investigation was carried … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Every Police Force Will Now Have A Dedicated Cyber Crime Unit

Thanks to a multi-million pound investment from the government, every Police force in England and Wales will now have a committed Cyber Crime Unit.

The announcement was made by Chief Constable Peter Goodman of the National Police Chiefs Council lead for cyber-crime. The news came at an event hosted by the new West Midlands Cyber Crime Unit which was established in November last year. Chief Constable Goodman heard from members of the team about the work they are doing within the force, how they link with the regional network and what it means to local victim’s and businesses.

Chief … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Hajj fraud warning issued by Civil Aviation Authority over fake pilgrimage deals

Travellers looking to book their Hajj pilgrimage this August, are being warned to stay clear of deals that seem to good to be true.

With over 25,000 British Muslims expected to make the Hajj pilgrimage this August, the Civil Aviation Authority is launching a campaign to ensure that this often once in a lifetime trip is not Thwarted by booking through a disreputable company, or those falsely posing as reputable travel agents. The Civil Aviation Authority’s campaign is working to protect travellers after an increasing trend in the sale of illegal or fake package deals. In the worst cases, … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Fraudster Poses As Hollywood Actor To Con Victims

A British woman has been conned out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by a fraudster who pretended to be actor Jason Statham.

The woman, who spoke to BBBC Radio Manchester, asked not to be named and explained how she had been targeted by the heartless fraudster at one of the most vulnerable times in her life. She told the station how she had just lost her mother and fiancé when she was contacted by the Fraudster pretending to be the famous actor.

It all started when she was browsing through a Facebook page which is dedicated to the movie … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Grenfell Tower Scammer Jailed For Five Years

Moses Ettiene, 49, claimed he had been living in the Grenfell Tower when the fire started on 14 June 2017. Kensington and Chelsea council fell for his story and paid his huge bill of more than £47,000. He spent 325 nights in the four star Park Plaza in West London, he also Asserted for his food bill during his stay.

Ettiene claimed he was out the night the blaze started, which claimed the lives of 72 people. However, he did attend the Westway Community Centre, where survivors were told to go to seek help.

The fire at Grenfell Tower sent … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Ghost Broker Jailed for selling fake car insurance to criminals

A fraudster has been sentenced to two years in prison for setting up fake companies to buy fleet insurance policies for more than 70 vehicles. Police say, some of these vehicles were used by drug dealers and in burglaries.

Suhail Hussain was found guilty of registering seven fake businesses with Companies House and stealing the details of five genuine companies. This enabled Hussain to buy £60,000 worth of false fleet insurance policies, the policies allow businesses to buy insurance cover for all their vehicles under one policy.

Investigators found that Hussain took out 10 fleet policies to cover multiple vehicles … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Mum of two scammed out of Savings

A mum of two from Birmingham was left in debt after scammers raided her bank account over a five day long sophisticated scam.

The Mirror reports how Hannah Greaves was tricked by cruel fraudsters who convinced her they were working on behalf of her banks fraud department. The fraudsters built up a credible story over the course of five days and were able to gain her trust, before stealing over £9,000.

Hannah said: “I can’t believe how believable the fraudsters were. They seemed to know my bank, NatWest’s website inside out, the layout of the screens and the language the … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Pension Review Cold-Calls Banned by the Government

Thousands of people have lost their entire life savings through pension mis-selling, now the government has taken action and changed the law to stop this from happening.

Fraudsters have been using the term ‘Free Pension Review’ and over the past four years it is estimated that £46.7 million has been lost in pension cold-calling scams. And the stories of those who have been targeted are truly heart-breaking, with thousands of pensioners after having saved their entire lives, now facing financial hardship in their retirements. This lead to campaigners calling for an Prompt pensions cold-calling ban, to help protect … Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

Animal Lovers Warned Over Fraud Scheme

Future pet owners are being warned about a new online fraud that has scammed victims out of £3 Million.

Action Fraud has issued a warning that between March 2012 and April 2018, 5066 reports were made to the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre. Victims reported losing £3,129,273 during this time, an average of £40,640 per month.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith said: “Fraudsters are taking advantage of people looking for pets online, often to bring into their family. When a person falls victim to this fraud, the distressed and financial loss caused can be huge and … Read more

/0 Comments/by