ATD Travel Services (ATD), which operates a number of attraction ticket brands, including DoSomethingDifferent.com, became the victim of a £1.5 million fraud this summer. The company was targeted by professional criminals which police have described as a “sophisticated international gang” that is known to have preyed on other commercial companies. Efforts to recover the funds […]
Month: September 2015
Fraudulent Business Email Scams
While spam email is annoying and inconvenient, the average person might not consider it dangerous or malicious on a broad scale. But a recent warning from the FBI on the dangers of what it calls “business e-mail compromise (BEC)” might get people to think twice about what comes across their desks or shows up in […]
Airline fraudster jailed for 5 years
A young man who duped dozens of people in online scams while breaking free from a strict Baptist upbringing has been jailed for almost five years. Joash Boyton was 19 when he embarked on a series of deceptions that ultimately became so complex they required Victoria Police’s e-crimes squad to devote hundreds of man hours […]
Jailed fraudsters reveal scam secrets to police
Detectives have visited hundreds of convicted fraudsters in prison to find out how they carried out their crimes, City of London Police has said. Commissioner Adrian Leppard said the information helped disrupt cybercrime and reduce the number of victims. The prisoners were not rewarded with reduced sentences, he told the BBC. Police have always spoken […]
Hacker gets 30 years in prison
Russian national pleads guilty in global hacking scheme Russian Hacker Vladimir Drinkman faces 30 years sentence after pleading guilty to hacking NASDAQ, stealing 160 million credit cards. Vladimir Drinkman, a 34 year old Russian hacker has pleaded guilty in US Federal Court for his role in hacking NASDAQ, JCPenny, 7 Eleven, Dow Jones, JetBlue and […]
Rugby World Cup online ticket scam exposed
Almost 300 supporters have complained to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau about an online ticket scam that is estimated to have taken more than £500,000 of fans’ money ahead of the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand-based Gillian Dailey ordered tickets in January for £830 to take her four-year-old daughter Lexi, but discovered last week she […]
150 complaints after Bestival ticket fraud
Police have made a new appeal for people to come forward if they believe they were potential victims of a ticket fraud for the Bestival music event. More than 60 complaints have so far been made about tickets which were paid for but not received for the festival on the Isle of Wight. Ben Hyland-Ward, […]
Fake UK passports for sale
Custom-made fake UK passports designed to fool border security are on sale for £2,000 on the ‘dark web’, a Courier investigation has discovered. The Home Office has launched a probe after we highlighted the site which also claims to enter the buyer’s details into the official UK Passport database. Within minutes of logging on to […]
UK the most attacked nation when it comes to fraud
The UK was the most attacked nation in the world in Q2 when it came to online fraud, with businesses there hit 50% more frequently than their US counterparts, according to the latest stats from ThreatMetrix. The fraud prevention firm’s Digital Identity Network analyzed over three billion transactions globally during the period on behalf of […]
Why email is still the No 1 target for cyber-criminals
Gone phishing: why email is still the No 1 target for cyber-criminals Companies have a responsibility to protect their customers and staff from threats by securing the email channel, but how widespread is the problem? Email continues to be the leading route used by cyber-criminals to defraud victims, with RSA identifying a new phishing attack […]
British Airways isn’t giving away free flights
Scams and Facebook go together like love and marriage, eggs and bacon, and Tango and Cash. There are plenty of scammers out there on the world’s most popular social network, trying to dupe you into clicking on a suspicious link or share a page with your friends. Here is one of the latest, posing as […]
Ofcom issues stern warning over fake caller scam
Telecoms regulator Ofcom is warning customers of the dangers of CLI spoofing – the process which allows incoming calls to display fake originating numbers on recipients’ phones. The organisation has pointed out that there are valid reasons for spoofing – “for example, a caller who wishes to leave an 0800 number for you to call […]
How thieves can steal your identity
Thieves are finding new ways to target holidaymakers, taking advantage of the fact that their guard is down as they relax. They may feel happy and content as they log onto a cafe’s WiFi in the sunshine or take money out of an ATM machine in an idyllic resort – but danger is often lurking. […]
UK business facing annual £98.6 billion fraud bill
Professor Mark Button, co-author of The Financial Cost Of Fraud 2015 report and director of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies, says: “The key questions for any organisation are how much does fraud cost us, and how well are we protected against it? “Unless you know the nature and scale of your fraud problem and […]
The role of technology in security & fraud prevention
Constant advances in technology – such as the move towards remote payments and transactions – has had a huge impact on the travel industry. Swiftly evolving tech allows travel agents and OTAs to be agile and responsive, maximising time efficiency and profits. Yet, this also means travel companies must always be ready to adapt quickly […]
UK SMEs risk fraud activity as US adopts chip & pin
In 2004, EMV technology was introduced to the UK public. More commonly known as chip and PIN, it transformed transaction technology in a way that continues to affect retailing today. Within two years, the UK was almost completely migrated to EMV, with 99.8% of card transactions PIN verified. The technology put a considerable dent in […]
Police charge woman in alleged ticket scam
A 38-year-old woman from the Philippines is facing 18 charges in relation to an alleged airline ticket scam targeting members of Toronto’s Filipino community that resulted in the loss of $150,000 from victims. Police said the joint investigation with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario discovered that customers booked airline tickets through a woman whom […]
UK internal fraud rises by 18%
Internal frauds have risen 18 per cent in 2014 compared with the previous year according to UK’s fraud prevention service CIFAS annual Employee Fraudscape report. Simon Dukes, CEO of CIFAS, says: “Fraud is not just about remote attacks – some of the most dangerous threats can come from within. Internal fraud costs huge amounts in […]