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Travel companies warned not to mistreat customers

The Competition and Markets Authority has warned travel companies to stop mistreating unfortunate customers who have to cancel their holidays due to unforeseen circumstances.

A lack of awareness over how much can be retained when a traveller cancels a booking is extensive, according to the Competition and Markets Authority. A company cannot automatically keep a large deposit if the customer cancels owing to unforeseen circumstances. Such a contract may be unfair, even if written into terms and conditions.

This means that if a holidaymaker has to cancel a booking due to illness or a family tragedy, and the travel company … Read more

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Action Fraud Warning To Instagram Users

Fraudulent investments are being advertised on social media and Action Fraud, the reporting watchdog, says a shocking £3,168,464 was lost to scammers between October 2018 and February 2019. On average, each victim lost a total of £8,900 per person.

Action Fraud want to warn the public about investments being used on social media, especially Instagram. They say young people, aged between 20 and 30 are most likely to be targeted and fall victim. Fraudsters are advertising ‘Get Rich Quick’ investment schemes, promising a high return within 24 hours. They have been asking victims for a initial £600 investment, which they … Read more

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The 12 signs your email could be under attack

Cybersecurity experts have revealed a list of the 12 most common subject lines in phishing emails targeting businesses.

No email security solution is 100% effective. Hackers put a lot of effort into developing attacks that circumvent email protection and end up in users’ inboxes. Cybersecurity company Barracuda conducted an investigation over a three month period and analysed 360,000 phishing emails. They found that, in many cases, the language contained in the subject line of the email mimicked popular terms in the workplace. This makes the recipient think that the email is urgent and requires an immediate response. It is assumed … Read more

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Five Men Jailed Over Fraud Offences

Five fraudsters have been jailed for a total of 17 years and nine months, for conning susceptible victims out of nearly £1 million.

The five men were facing charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. The court heard how, between 2013 and 2015, the group of men conned more than 50 victims into a fraud and money laundering scam. The men would cold-call elderly and vulnerable people, introduce themselves under fake names and claim they were brokers with proficiency in fine wine.

They operated from an industrial estate based in Great Dunmow, and claimed to work for three companies, … Read more

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Romance Fraud leaves woman penniless

Michelle Szombara has now been declared bankrupt after meeting a man on a dating website. Alan Clarkson stole more than £60,000 from Ms Szombara and her parents. Clarkson turned up at her house one day with a few items of clothing and did not leave for four years. He then started to claim he was penniless, in debt and could not access his bank accounts.

To help legitimise his con, Clarkson created fake emails from financial organisations and produced fake paperwork to fool her into believing he had money in another bank account and could pay her back.

Ms Szombara … Read more

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Warning Over Springtime Scammers

Fraudsters are targeting elderly, vulnerable and young people who may have less experience of the tax system. During April and May, fraudsters target taxpayers with refund scams, by Feigning to be from HMRC, either by email or text. This coincides with genuine tax rebates at this time of year, made by HMRC and makes the con seem more legitimate as people may be expecting to hear from the tax service.

They ask recipients to provide bank details through a fake government website which harvests private information and is used to steal money from peoples bank accounts. To lure them in … Read more

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Man protests mis-sold loans, starts hunger strike outside bank headquarters

A businessman has begun a hunger strike opposite the headquarters of Clydesdale Bank to protest about the way he claims it has treated him.

John Guidi, 63 from Glasgow, is sleeping in a tent in the city centre outside of the Clydesdale headquarters. Mr Guidi blames the bank for removing funding from his once successful property business and then selling his loans to another company.

Mr Guidi has been a loyal customer of Clydesdale bank for over twelve years and had built up a portfolio of over 150 rental properties. He says the bank withdrew his funding in 2012 and … Read more

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Another warning over TV Licensing Scam

Action Fraud are again issuing fresh warnings over an ongoing TV Licensing phishing scam. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau are continuing to receive high numbers of complaints through their reporting service.

Fraudsters are sending members of the public fake TV Licensing emails, which are designed to steal personal and financial information. Action Fraud has received over 900 crime reports since April 2018,and the losses to victims totals more than £830,000.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith said: “We are continuing to see reports of fraudsters using fake TV Licensing emails to hook victims in and trick them into parting … Read more

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Warning Over Selling Your Old Computer

Action Fraud are warning people to be careful when looking to make some extra cash selling their old computers.

According to new research from a leading international data security company, found that 42% of used hard drives sold through Ebay still contained sensitive data, which could be compromising. The research found that 15% contained personally identifiable information, even when sellers had stated they had properly wiped the hard drives of all personal and sensitive data.

The study analysed 159 computer drives purchased in the UK, UK, Germany and Finland. The findings highlighted a major concern that whilst sellers recognise … Read more

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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

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