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£21 Million Lost To Computer Software Service Fraud
Action Fraud have launched a new campaign to warn people about Computer Software service Fraud. It is one of the UK’s top five most reported types of fraud. In 2017/18, over 22,000 people have reported being scammed and the total loss combined is £21 Million.

Action Fraud received 22,609 reports from members of the public, concerning Computer Software Service Fraud and a total of £21,365,360 being stolen by scammers. Action Fraud report the average age of a victim is 63 and people living in London and Bristol are most likely … Read more

The Financial Conduct Authority has handed down a massive fine to the supermarket bank following a cyber-attack In November 2016. The attack did not result in any theft or loss of personal customers data, but did lead to 34 transactions where funds were debited from personal accounts and millions were stolen.

Tesco bank is the financial arm of one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains and holds 5.6 million customer bank accounts.

The FCA says that Tesco failed to protect its customers and is holding the bank accountable for its lapse in risk management. This is the first time the … Read more

A real estate company in the US is warning consumers and real estate brokers about a Burst of recent timeshare scams. The scammers are cold-calling timeshare owners claiming to be from a Legal real estate agency and offering timeshare sales and exit services for timeshares owners.

The scammers have been falsely representing themselves as home sales agents working for a legitimate firm, even going as far as to use their real estate license number and address.

The scammer will then offer to sell the victims timeshare, explaining how they have many clients ready to purchase timeshares at a reasonable price. … Read more

The Financial Conduct Authority announced back in 2017 that they were investigating the motor financing industry, to ensure that consumers were not being caused harm, to understand how finance products were sold and, to see if the market is functioning as well as it could be. In March, the FCA published an update of this review, setting out the areas of concern that they have highlighted for further investigation. One of those areas is PCP or Personal Contract Purchase.

And finance experts are eagerly anticipating the publication of the FCA’s findings. If the FCA rule the sales processes employed … Read more

A new report states that £500 Million has been stolen from customers of British banks in the first half of 2018 alone.

Industry group UK Finance says £145 Million of the stolen amount was due to APP scams, or Accredited Push Payments. APP crime is the fastest growing type of crime and these new figures show a sharp increase in the amount stolen from 2017. In short, APP fraud is where a victim believes they are paying for a legitimate service or item and the criminal poses as a trusted third party and redirects the payment to a different account.… Read more

A man has been found guilty of defrauding the NHS out of £700,000. Michael Cope was accused of awarding business contracts to companies that he knew would fail. His two accomplices in the scam previously plead guilty to the fraud, which the NHS say cost £1.4 Million to put right.

Together, the three men awarded construction contracts to a company called George Morgan Limited and the work they carried out was so poor, it cost double the original price to fix. The court heard how the men spent the company’s profits on expensive holidays, designer watches, cars and property. The … Read more

Six men have been sentenced to a total of 30 years and 4 months in prison for a scam which defrauded 1,500 elderly and Exposed people, which netted them £17 Million.

A judge at Liverpool Crown Court has sentenced the six men to more than 30 years combined after a trial by jury found the men guilty. The case was bought after a four year investigation into the company Solar Energy Savings Ltd, by the Serious Fraud Office. The Serious Fraud Office alleged the men concocted a scheme to sell and install solar energy panels promising customers would generate Read more

Two company directors from Nottingham have been found guilty of Deceptive trading after a 10-day trial. The firm cold-called businesses all over the UK, including takeaway restaurants, nail bars, hair salons and other small businesses, offering to reduce their business rates. The firm charged customers either £399 or £499 for simply filling in application forms. On their website, they boasted that they were the leading specialist in business rates, something that they could not justify when asked in court.

The small businesses targeted were then pressed for payment, even though rate cuts had not been achieved by the company. … Read more

The Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator have issued a statement, to warn the public to be watchful when receiving cold-calls, regarding pension investments.

 

The warning comes after 253 victims contacted Action Fraud to report pension investment fraud. This resulted in more than £23 million lost to pension scammers in 2017 alone. The average loss equates to £91,000 per victim.

superfluous to say, these are highly sophisticated scammers, who convince people into transferring their pensions into fraudulent schemes. Victims can lose their life savings and hard earned money, which could leave them facing a retirement future they … Read more

The Financial Ombudsman Service has upheld a complaint bought by five individuals who lost nearly £100,000 after transferring their savings following a free pension review.

The decision made by FOS could offer hope to thousands of other victims, who have lost their savings in SIPP’s, a successful way to claim back their money.

The five individuals invested into schemes, including Ethical Forestry and Global Plantations, between 2013 and 2016. The 5 victims claimed Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation worked with uncontrolled introducers, to facilitate non-standard investments.

The five victims were cold called and persuaded to invest their pension pots into … Read more