The consumer group Which? has criticised some of Britain’s biggest banks for failing to invest in security systems that would better protect their customers from fraudsters. Against a backdrop of booming bank fraud, Which? tested the UK’s 11 biggest banks and building societies and found that the security at five of them was still not […]
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Banks’ online security is failing customers
The consumer group Which? has criticised some of Britain’s biggest banks for failing to invest in security systems that would better protect their customers from fraudsters. Against a backdrop of booming bank fraud, Which? tested the UK’s 11 biggest banks and building societies and found that the security at five of them was still not […]
Police detain nearly 200 suspects at airports around globe
One hundred and ninety-three suspects have been detained over a five-day period at airports around the globe as part of a crackdown on fraudulently purchased airline tickets. The suspects booked flights using stolen, compromised or fake credit card details, allowing them to travel anonymously, according to a statement released by the Europol policing agency on […]
Online fraud costs UK £10.9bn a year
Annual fraud and cybercrime losses in the UK have grown to the equivalent of £210 per adult, according to research. A total of £10.9bn was lost to the UK economy in the 12 months to April, prevention group Get Safe Online said. Fraudulent emails and messages directing people to websites that gather victims’ personal information […]
UK Financial Fraud Nears £400 Million
Financial fraud in the first half of the year reached £399.5 million and was driven mainly by online attacks, according to Financial Fraud Action UK. The latest stats show an increase in fraud by 25% on the same period last year, when total losses stood at a little over £320 million. Remote purchase fraud, which […]
Ex nurse set up a bogus travel agency
A penniless ex nurse went on eight luxury cruises worth £55,000 in five months after setting up a bogus travel agency and using it to book the holidays. Kay Hooper, 58, booked penthouse state rooms on all-inclusive deals and spent up to 10 days a time cruising in luxury in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, […]
Advantage calls for watch list to counter agent fraud
The boss of Advantage Travel Partnership is calling on consortia and industry bodies to back calls for a new watch list to prevent agent members committing fraud. The Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit) group has been working with Advantage and City of London Police to set up the portal. Chairman Barry Gooch said it […]
Warning over fake BA and Flybe offers
Travellers are being warned not to fall for scams currently in operation promoting fake Flybe and British Airways offers. Flybe is warning its customers not to be fooled by a false competition being shared on Facebook. The competition, which even spells the airline’s name incorrectly, offers: ‘Get 2 Free Flybee Airline Tickets on its 20th […]
Homeworker found guilty of defrauding Advantage
A homeworker who defrauded Advantage Travel Partnership of tens of thousands of pounds has been handed a suspended jail sentence. Rita Hunter, who ran Hunters Travel in Liverpool, was ordered to pay back £33,000 to the consortium. Hunter admitted using former customers’ credit and debit cards to pay for new bookings through the consortium, while […]
Credit card with fraud-busting display
A credit card with a digital display that randomly generates a security code is being launched as a way of combating fraud. Oberthur Technologies is currently in discussions with UK banks about rolling out the technology and will have cards “in the hands” of consumers in France by the end of the year. Credit card […]
One in ten credit card users fall victim to fraudsters
More than four million people were forced to cancel credit or debit cards after falling victim to fraud in the last year, making you more likely to be mugged online than in the street. A survey of more than 2,000 adults in the UK found one in 10 were targeted by scams that meant they […]
UK banks urged to protect customers from fraudsters
British banks must do more to protect customers from transferring money to scam artists, says a new “super-complaint” to the UK’s payments watchdog. Which?, the consumer group behind the complaint, said banks had to take responsibility if customers sent money to schemes that turned out to be fraudulent. As an example, it said it had […]
Financial fraud happens every 15 seconds
Every 15 seconds, a financial scam happens in the UK – amounting to more than a million in the first half of this year. This information was released by Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) today, as it launches a campaign to combat financial fraud. The campaign, named Take Five, wants to remind everyone to […]
Fraud soars by 53% in a year
Official industry data shows that a total of 1,007,094 cases of financial fraud – involving online and phone banking, debit and credit cards, and cheques – occurred between 1 January and 30 June this year. That compares with the 660,308 cases reported during the same six-month period in 2015. This means that an incident is […]
Online scammers speed up
There were over one million fraud attempts in the UK in the first six months of 2016, or one every 15 seconds – more than 50 per cent higher than the same period of last year. Between January and June 2016 there were 1,007,094 fraud cases in the UK compared to 660,308 in the first […]
Data breach at chain hotels
Independent hotel firm HEI Hotels, which operates hotels for the nation’s biggest brands such as Marriott, Starwood and Hyatt, says it has been hit by a data breach. The company says malware was discovered on point of sale systems linked to 20 hotels in 10 states. The hack was discovered in June and dates back […]
£12m lost to holiday-home scams
Holidaymakers heading off to a sunny poolside villa are being urged to check that the property exists as UK travel companies are accused of not doing enough to prevent online holiday-home fraud. Despite companies knowing about the problem for years, people are still losing precious breaks and millions of pounds after falling victim to scammers. […]
Thomas Cook employee jailed for £60k credit card frauds
A Thomas Cook business assistant was jailed for nearly five years for duping the travel firm and a previous employer out of more than £60,000. Angelika Schell, 54, treated herself to lunches, flights abroad, and taxis rides to work with her Thomas Cook company credit card. She stole £37,000 over two years, and tried to […]
Employees still falling for phishing scams
One third of employees are still likely to fall victim to phishing attacks, risking their company’s entire network security, it has been found. The figures come from Duo Security via one of its free tools, which it launched at the time of RSA conference in March 2016. 11,542 employees across 400 companies were put to […]
Scams con artists will use to steal your passport
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has revealed some of the most common ways British tourists have had their passports nicked while on holiday. With more than 21,000 passports stolen or lost last year, the FCO has launched a social media campaign – called #PassportAware – to encourage Britons to prevent their travel documents from falling […]