Hotel guests using gift cards as a form of payment are usually not causes for suspicion but with the latest trend in credit card fraud, hotels are in serious danger. Credit card thieves are reprogramming the magnetic strip on prepaid gift cards in order to artificially inflate the spending limit. It is nearly impossible to […]
Month: December 2013
Fraudster jailed after targeting Tube ticket machines
25-year-old Alexandru Munteanu from Waltham Forest placed the device onto six ticket machines at London Underground stations in June and July. The device was made up of a pin hole camera and a card reader and used at Buckhurst Hill, Epping, Loughton, Theydon Bois and West Ham. Link to article
Ticket fraud targeted in operation on buses
Members of Lancashire County Council Safer Travel team recently carried out an operation with Stagecoach around fraudulent ticket use on the buses. Over the last few weeks a number of fraudulent tickets have been found in circulation on several of the Stagecoach services, operating around in and around the Preston area. Link to article
Target card heist hits 40 million
Payment details from up to 40 million credit cards could have been stolen after they were used in the stores of US retail giant Target. The retailer said it was investigating after discovering that thieves had gained access to its payment systems. The data breach began around 29 November, known as Black Friday, one of […]
Man Jailed for Phishing Scam
Olajide Onikoyi stole a total of £393,000 from 238 victims, including one who lost £19,000. Nigerian Olajide Onikoyi, 29, of Blackley, Manchester, was recently sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for his involvement in a phishing scam targeting students in the UK. Link to article
Fraudsters target ski tourists
Travel agencies have warned of a new internet scam targeting holidaymakers who are booking skiing accommodation online. Some people have transferred thousands of pounds to conmen posing as the owners of luxury chalets. Chalet operator Consensio Holidays has asked for dozens of fraudulent chalet listings to be taken down from rentals websites. Link to article
The 12 cyber-scams of Christmas
This Christmas looks like being a bumper one for online shopping but not everyone is filled with the festive spirit and some have already set online traps they hope you will fall into. Link to article
Four arrested over London-based £1m cyber theft
Four people have been arrested and £80,000 in cash seized following the suspected theft of £1m from two banks. Some customers had inadvertently downloaded software enabling their money to be siphoned off, police said. During raids at properties in Enfield and Islington on Tuesday, police also removed a live hand grenade. Two men, aged 31, […]
Fraud prevention key for businesses
According to a recent European Commission report, the UK had the second highest rates of online sales with around three quarters of consumers (71%) purchasing something online in the last 12 months. That compares to The Netherlands (which was top with 74%); Germany (63%); France (58%) and Belgium (44%). Link to article
98% of Top 100 Sites Leave Shoppers Open to Crooks
As the “Cyber December” holiday buying season gets underway, new research shows that only two of the top 100 e-commerce websites automatically protect users by directing them to highly secure HTTPS versions that use always-on SSL. Link to article
Commissioner speaks out on cyber security
“This is one of those areas where the corporate hairs on the back of your neck should stand up causing you to ask a lot more questions.” The City of London Police Commissioner, Adrian Leppard, is urging businesses of all sizes to seriously address the issue of cyber security within their organisations, before it is […]
More than 100 Britons hit by CryptoLocker
At least a hundred British individuals and businesses have been infected by CryptoLocker since September, according to UK fraud investigators. The UK’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) said it had received 157 reports of CryptoLocker during the last three months through its reporting site, Action Fraud. That comes after the UK’s National Crime Agency warned […]
Public sector fails to tackle £20.6bn a year fraud
The UK public sector is poorly equipped to combat fraud, with civil servants not being given the necessary training to help detect the estimated £20.6 billion lost every to fraud, says big data analytics firm SAS. SAS says it has already worked with HM Revenue & Customs to reduce fraud losses by a claimed £7 […]
COLP to take over Action Fraud
The City of London Police is taking over responsibility for Action Fraud, the national fraud and financially-motivated internet crime reporting centre. The transfer is taking place as Home secretary Theresa May announced the closure of the National Fraud Authority, which was previously in charge of Action Fraud Link to article
Liquidators agree Goldtrail claims worth £400,000
Liquidators of failed operator Goldtrail Travel have agreed 117 claims totalling £429,662 – just a fraction of the money owed to creditors. Fifteen claims remain outstanding due to ongoing legal action, including a £25 million interim claim from the Air Travel Trust, which pays out to consumers under the Atol scheme. Link to article
New business crime strategy focuses on partnerships
The Mayor of London has published a draft document detailing his strategy for reducing business crime across the capital. The document is open for consultation over the next 10 weeks. It emphasises the key role of business crime reduction partnerships in London, and the need to support and extend them. Link to article
High-tech touts
The Great Monty Python Swindle: Tickets for their reunion sold out in 43 seconds. But then, as we reveal, it’s almost impossible for ordinary fans to beat today’s high-tech touts. Monty Python fans across the country sat down at their computers on Monday morning, credit cards poised, and awaited the chance to buy tickets to […]
Police hunt Romanian ATM thieves
Police hunt Romanian ATM thieves who are behind 90% of UK cashpoint fraud. British police are to hunt for the ‘Mr Bigs’ running Romanian gangs that are now behind more than 90 per cent of cashpoint thefts in this country, the Mail can reveal. Officers will work with their Romanian counterparts to target the gangsters […]
Get a Real Deal
Fraudsters are trying to sell you cheap, fake car insurance! Fake car insurance is being sold across the UK by so-called ‘ghost brokers’. Ghost brokers are fraudsters who target young drivers with ‘cheap deals’, issuing policies which aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. If you purchase a policy from a ghost broker, you may […]