The Metropolitan Police and Mayor of London should lead a London-wide campaign during 2015-16 to draw attention to the threat of online crime. According to a report by the Police and Crime Committee, the Met should identify a senior ranking officer to be responsible for mainstreaming cyber crime action across the whole of the force, […]
Month: March 2015
85% of fraud and cybercrime unreported
City of London Police warns that the overwhelming majority of crimes perpetrated by online hackers are never even reported, let alone prosecuted, with losses totalling billions of pounds. In a new report, the police group, which leads the way in tackling fraud and internet-based crime in Britain, says that official data “vastly underestimates” the problem […]
UK online banking fraud losses soar 48%
Online banking fraud jumped 48% to £60.4 million in 2014, according to figures put together by Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK), which blames the rise on malware and confidence tricksters. However, with just 53192 actual incidents of online banking fraud losses in the year, the FFA says that the problem is “relatively modest” for […]
Men, 46, most likely fraud victims
Sophisticated identity theft “on an industrial scale” is on the rise with a 46-year-old man the most likely victim, a new report says. Recorded fraud was up by 25% last year compared with 2013, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. ID fraud accounted for 41% of all fraud. Digitally-savvy young adults were increasingly becoming targets. […]
Fraud up by a quarter & increasingly organised
Annual fraud release shows continued threat of identity theft as young adults increasingly targeted. Recorded frauds increased by 25 per cent last year, according to the latest report from the UK fraud prevention service, Cifas, published today. In total there were 276,993 frauds recorded in 2014, compared to 221,075 in 2013. Link to article
Airbnb scam cost me £920
I was recently the victim of a scam via Airbnb’s website when booking an apartment in Barcelona. While browsing through the accommodation offers, I used the red “contact the host” link to send an email to the owner of an attractive apartment. The owner was listed as being “verified” on the site. The apartment owner, […]
The UK’s 10 most infamous data breaches
Software vulnerabilities, lost hard drives and CDs, malicious insiders, poor security – the UK’s most important data breaches reveal just how many ways data can be put at risk. It’s tempting to believe that important data breaches only happen in the US and the figures tend to bear that out – the US accounts for […]
5 cloud data issues exposed
Skyscape Cloud Services has released a white paper that looks to address the issues of data location and security. Skyscape state that while fewer breaches happen on cloud platforms, when they do – they make the news. One of the big concerns for the company is data which is stored offshore, with either US or […]
How I lost £74,000 to boiler room fraudsters
A pensioner couple have been left with a “frugal” income after losing the bulk of their life savings to a boiler room scam. Peter Hodgson, 78, was duped out of £74,000 by highly convincing fraudsters who sold him diamonds as investments at highly inflated prices. “I should have smelt a rat but they seemed so […]
Drive to stop investment fraud across the capital
A London-wide clamp down on suspected investment frauds operating out of some of the capital’s most iconic buildings in the heart of the UK’s main financial districts has been running throughout the day. City of London Police, City of London Corporation Trading Standards and Metropolitan Police visited 25 office premises in the Square Mile, Canary […]
Tightening the net
The City of London Police, the National Lead force for fraud, contributed to the assessment conducted by the London Assembly in the lead up to the release of today’s report entitled ‘Tightening the net’ which looked at the Metropolitan Police’s response to online theft and fraud. The report found that an increasing amount of crime […]
Four jailed in £20 Million money laundering case
Today (Monday, 16 March) at the Old Bailey four men were sentenced to a total of 21 years and two months after they all pleaded guilty for their involvement in laundering millions of pounds of criminal assets abroad. Abdullah Rahim 34, from Lewisham received six and a half years after pleading guilty to laundering nearly […]
Prepaid card usage tipped to surge
Trends in consumer spending indicate that 2015 will be the year of the ‘prepaid economy’, according to financial industry experts, as consumers increasingly reject credit cards, seek greater protection from online fraud and switch to new ways to access services such as public transport. New figures show that UK has seen an explosion in the […]
Government earmarks extra £250k to tackle e-crime
Trading Standards awarded additional cash to crack down on copycat websites, phishing and online fraud. The government is giving extra funding to the National Trading Standards Board to help it crack down on copycat websites masquerading as legitimate government services which leave unwary consumers thousands of pounds out of pocket. A sum of £250,000 was […]
Frauds worth £12bn go unreported
The true scale of crime in Britain is far higher than previously thought because 85 per cent of fraud and cybercrime goes unreported, official figures have revealed for the first time. Figures from the City of London Police – which has a national lead on tackling fraud – showed an estimated 1.2 million crimes were […]
The benefits of Bitcoin in travel
It comes as no surprise that airlines and travel companies are constantly looking for ways to lower their costs. By accepting payments in the digital currency bitcoin, an increasing number of online travel merchants and airlines are achieving just that. Most people are unaware of the costs associated with accepting card payments online, airlines often […]
Thousands fooled by fake Qantas giveaway
A fake Qantas Facebook page offering free first class flights for the rest of the year has fooled thousands of people. To win, all users have to do is like and share an image of a ‘complimentary invitation’ to Qantas’ First Lounge. Within 16 hours the offer had received 36,790 likes and had been shared […]
Appearing in Court
In the previous edition of this campaign we looked at completing a witness statement. This week we look at what might occur when are called to court. Remember that if you are involved in a criminal prosecution; you have given a statement that complies with section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967; and the […]
Statements & Reports
Previously in part 12 of this email campaign we looked at some issues that you might consider when investigating a suspected fraud. In this issue we look at some things to consider when completing two formal documents that you might be required to complete in order for legal action to be taken. When you Might […]
Debt Recovery Options
Is it ever Worthwhile Recovering Money From A Fraudster? In this edition of the email campaign we look at whether it is ever worth considering recovering money from an employee that commits a fraud or attempting to recover money from someone who commits a fraud (such as through a chargeback) against your organisation. Read more>>