Wesley Aldred from Kissimmee, Florida was sentenced to a day in prison in 2015 for a timeshare telemarketing scam. He has now been sentenced to a new term of 21 months for running a similar scam while on supervised release. Aldred was one of a group of telemarketers accused of participating in a timeshare resale fraud scam which focused timeshare owners all over the United States. They would contact timeshare owners and falsely claim to have found a buyer for their timeshare, if they could pay a small fee upfront then the company would facilitate the sale. Victims paid thousands … Read more
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The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has upheld a symbolic £500,000 fine it handed to Facebook in July. The fine was issued to Facebook in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, concerning harvesting users’ data.
The ICO stated in its notice of penalty that data from at least one million British users was Unjustly processed and Facebook had failed to take appropriate technical and organisational measures against it. The fine is the maximum amount allowed under the Data Protection Act 1998.
In a statement a Facebook spokesperson said: “We are grateful that the ICO has acknowledged our full cooperation throughout … 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
RCI adds another resort to its portfolio.
RCI is the global leader in holiday exchange, with over 4,300 Affiliated resorts in 110 countries. RCI has announced it is adding the Hondaafushi Island Resort to its portfolio of properties and marks the hospitality giant’s 4th resort in the region.
Hondaafushi Island Resort is a beautiful resort located in the stunning Maldives, with white sands and clear blue seas. It boasts mesmerising views of the lagoons, luxurious accommodations and five-star facilities.
A spokesperson for RCI India said about the new addition: “We are delighted to announce our new affiliation with Hondaafushi … 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
As the summer draws to a close and the tans begin to fade, some of us may be looking into booking future holidays, expecting to secure a bargain by booking early. Others may be considering the prospect of investing in a timeshare or holiday membership, locking in todays’ price for all future holidays.
It sounds like a fantastic way to save money on future holidays, and there are millions of people all over the world who enjoy and benefit from their timeshares. So, if you are, or ever have thought of buying a timeshare, here is what you … Read more