News / Reports
Fraud Reports / News
These pages are aimed at providing the latest reports / news on fraud and financial crime from the media, government bodies, financial institution and so on.
If a particular news item has caught your attention and is not on this site or your organisation has a report you think would be of value to visitors of this site please contact the NEFF at northeast.fraudforum@btinternet.com
Please see the list at the side of this page for individual fraud reports.
LATEST NEWS and REPORTS
| 07/12/2011 | Christmas shoppers warned over flood of counterfeit toys |
| Christmas shoppers are being warned that a wave of counterfeit goods is flooding the market just in time for the festive season, according to the government's UK Border Agency. Toys, fake Ugg Boots, GHD hair straighteners, iPhones and iPads are among tens of thousands of counterfeit items that have been seized by customs officers in recent months. UKBA said buyers can be left with products that are inferior to genuine ones and often dangerous. Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 13/11/2011 | Fraud by staff and patients costs NHS ’£3bn a year’ |
The true cost of fraud to the NHS is more than £3bn a year, putting patients' lives at risk, according to a new report. The staggering figure – enough to build dozens of new hospitals – is the work of a "dishonest minority" of doctors, staff, patients and contractors, the report, to be published tomorrow, says. Full Story >> The Independant |
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| 09/11/2011 | Consumer ripoffs amount to £7bn a year, government committee warns |
Public accounts committee says methods of protecting consumers fail to keep pace with fraudsters Consumers are being "ripped off" to the tune of £7bn a year by sellers of defective goods, dodgy doorstep traders and online fraudsters because the systems in place to stop them are underfunded, incoherent and fragmented, a government committee has warned. Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 06/11/2011 | Fraudulent leases costing small businesses thousands |
Small businesses which fell victim to criminal fraud are now being pursued for their debts by major banks and financial institutions, 5 Live Investigates has discovered. Victims of leasing scams have been duped into taking out costly agreements which the leasing divisions of big banks and other financial institutions are insisting they honour. Full Story >> BBC News |
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| 31/10/2011 | Your credit card details on sale for just 70p: Cyber crime is reaching a ’disturbing level’ |
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| 24/10/2011 | Warning over ’landbanking’ scams in which investors are sold worthless plots as number of cases double in two years |
| Britons have been told to beware of 'landbanking' scams after figures released today showed that they had doubled in just two years. The details released by the Insolvency Service found that the scams, which see investors sold worthless plots of land, had gone up from 15 in 2009 to 30 this year. Full Story >> The MailOnline |
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| 12/10/2011 | Fraud protection: How to beat the cash card conmen |
Fraudsters are increasingly targeting cash machines and home phones to strip your bank account of money. Latest figures from the UK Cards Association reveal that fraud on lost or stolen cards totalled £25.7million in the first half of this year, a 20 per cent increase on last year, as conmen are put off by security measures for online bank accounts. Full Story >> This is Money.co.uk |
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| 05/10/2011 | Card fraud at 11-year low as criminals revert to cheque and phone scams |
The amount of money lost through card fraud and online banking fraud in the UK has fallen again as part of a longer-term downward trend, figures reveal, but at the same time cheque fraud and phone banking fraud losses have soared. Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 28/09/2011 | Online dating scams dupe 200,000, study finds |
Number of unreported cases likely to be far higher as individual losses range from £50 to £240,000. More than 200,000 people in Britain may have been conned by fraudsters posing as would-be romantic partners on internet dating sites, according to the first study examining the potential scale of the problem. Anti-fraud groups have warned for some time about scams, in which criminals create a false identity - often an army officer on active service, explaining an inability to meet in person - and develop a close online intimacy with a victim, who is then asked for cash to help their presumed suitor out of a crisis. Full Story >> The Guardian
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| 27/09/2011 | Stores call in police as voucher fraud by shoppers booms |
| Total value of vouchers distributed to customers each year is estimated at more than £500million Stores are calling in the police to crack down on shoppers who are misusing money-off vouchers. Full Story >> The MailOnline |
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| 09/08/2011 | National Fraud Authority News Update |
Information from the NFA As you are aware, the National Fraud Authority has been consulting with industry sectors, Government bodies, civic society representatives and law enforcement at national and regional level to develop 'Fighting Fraud Together' - an update of the original National Fraud Strategy from 2009. A consistent theme that emerged from the consultations was the need for more counter fraud information, advice and guidance to improve the regional response to fraud. A number of regional membership organisations, including the regional Fraud Forums, offered to act as channels to disseminate such information. The NFA proposes to send relevant materials and information from reputable organisations within the counter fraud community as and when they are developed. To start this process, we have provided a package of information aimed at small businesses i.e. Electronic factsheets and guidance handbooks please click on the links below to view the documents: |
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| 05/08/2011 | Beware the hackers who take over your Gmail account |
Your friend emails you from holiday saying he's been mugged and could you urgently wire him cash? But it's a scam - hackers are controlling his Gmail. Here at Guardian Money we've seen pretty much every scam email going. There are the "phishing" ones that purport to come from your bank; the ones saying you're due a tax refund; the "you've won the lottery" ones; and, of course, the ones from wealthy foreigners in Africa who need help moving squillions of dollars out of the country. However, the email we received recently from Ned Beale, a solicitor who wrote a series of articles for Money two years ago, stopped us in our tracks. It said Beale had been robbed during a trip to Athens – all his belongings were stolen at gunpoint, and he was desperate for help Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 03/08/2011 | CIFAS warns of mix of old and new staff fraud methods |
| Analysis of staff frauds recorded by Members of CIFAS the UK's Fraud Prevention Service during the first six months of 2011, reveals the continued seriousness of the problem posed by dishonest, fraudulent staff operating within organisations. Full Story >> Moneyam.com |
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| 03/08/2011 | FSA alert over carbon trading scams |
The Financial Services Authority has issued its first warning about carbon credit trading scams. The City watchdog is warning retail investors about bogus firms promoting such schemes Full Story >> The Telegraph |
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| 02/08/2011 | UK’s most wanted fraudsters revealed by Crimestoppers |
| The faces of some of Britain's most wanted suspected fraudsters have been published in an effort to bring them to justice. Crimestoppers, the national charity, said the 10 suspected criminals were allegedly responsible for a total of at least £200m of fraud. The list includes a live-in carer suspected of a £35,000 fraud after she allegedly stole cheques from a vulnerable elderly woman; a man who allegedly posed as an entertainer raising money for a young cancer patient and a man thought to be behind a holiday booking scam. Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 03/07/2011 | Swindler Douglas Brown siphoned off £2m |
TODAY the Sunday Sun can reveal the secret life of one of the biggest fraudsters the North has ever seen. Cunning Douglas Brown nearly brought an international company to its knees when he siphoned off more than £2.4m over 11 years to fund his lavish lifestyle. Full Story >> The Sunday Sun |
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| 26/06/2011 | Top 10 scams to watch out for this summer |
From boiler rooms to bogus Syrian protesters looking to use your account to launder money, the financial fraudsters have never been as active. Fraud in all its guises costs Britons more than £38bn a year, according to the latest police estimates, and following a warning from trading standards officers last week that conmen preying on the unsuspecting "have never had it so good", now is the time to ensure that you protect yourself from unscrupulous, smooth-talking salespeople. To help you be on your guard, here are our top 10 scams to watch out for this summer. Full Story >> The Independent |
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| 24/06/2011 | Boiler room shares scams con UK investors out of £200m a year |
Boiler rooms – illegal high-pressure sales operations pushing overpriced and even non-existent shares – rip off UK investors to the tune of around £200m a year, with many victims parting with five-figure sums. But as many wise up to their tricks, thanks to warnings issued by the Financial Services Authority and other bodies, the fraudsters are changing their tactics in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities. Full Story >> The Guardian |
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| 22/06/2011 | The top five worst card scams |
Most of us use a credit card or debit card on a regular basis. Unfortunately, however, criminals are finding more and more sneaky ways to use this to their advantage and swindle us out of our hard-earned cash. So to give you an idea of what you should be looking out for to protect yourself and your money, here are five of the worst card scams. Full Story >> Lovemoney.com |
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| 20/06/2011 | Fraud at senior management level is highlighted in KPMG report |
| • Typical fraudster male, aged 36-45, with senior job in finance • Sharp rise in cases triggered by weak internal controls • Pressure to meet targets also a motivating factor When it comes to "white collar" crime, finance directors, chief executives and other senior management are far more likely to be involved in fraud - such as the mis-statement of financial results, theft and expense abuse - than junior staff. The economic downturn has also made it a lot easier to commit fraud, according to research by KPMG, which warned that scams go undetected for longer. Full Story >> The Guardian |