Credit, collections & insolvency news
A man has been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to 6 years and 9 months in custody for defrauding elderly customers out of an estimated £958,949. He posed as a bank employee working to investigate fraud, tricking customers into handing over control of their bank. The sentencing follows an investigation and arrest by specialist banking…
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According to a recent report by FGS Global, British business leaders are increasingly concerned about the impact of cyber-attacks, with 85% of firms experiencing a crisis in the past year. The report reveals that business leaders across Britain, including top executives from EY and JD Sports, are concerned about cybersecurity. This concern comes after a…
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The Social Market Foundation (SMF) has called for a united international effort to combat fraud, which has cost the UK economy approximately £16bn between 2021 and 2023. The report highlights that 21% of adults globally have fallen victim to fraud in the past three years, with £168bn lost to fraudsters worldwide. Including the wider social…
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The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued a fresh warning to customers to beware of misleading requests for payments, sent by unsolicited organisations. These typically take the form of invoices requesting payment for trade marks, designs, or patents services. Such ‘services’ – once paid for – may simply never be provided, or may be of little…
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A Sussex director who committed Covid Bounce Back Loan fraud and encouraged an associate to invest in the creation of a footgolf course he never had permission to create, has been sentenced. Lee Walkey was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Lewes Crown Court. Walkey was also ordered to complete…
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A construction contractor has been banned as company director after Covid loan abuse. An Insolvency Service investigation found that Nick Addison submitted misleading information to obtain a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan, the maximum amount businesses were entitled to. Addison was the owner of a former Bedfordshire construction firm which mainly focused on dry lining and…
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A Bristol builder who overstated the income from his construction companies to secure two Covid Bounce Back Loans totalling £100,000 has been handed a suspended sentence. James Leslie was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court. His father William Leslie and of the same address,…
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Credit Connect Media hosted the return of its Commercial Credit & Collections Conference last week at the Met Hotel in Leeds which saw trade credit, insolvency, and economic change and discussed by fourteen leading credit, collections and insolvency professionals. In the sixth edition of the Commercial Credit & Collections Conference series, hosted by Credit Connect…
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New research from GBG has revealed 81% of European businesses believe cross-sector collaboration and intelligence sharing is key to stemming the rising tide of fraudulent criminal activity. The findings are part of GBG’s new Global Fraud Report 2024 which surveyed businesses in the UK, France, Germany, and Spain in financial services, fintech, crypto, banking, retail…
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The UK is fast becoming a global hotspot for online fraud, which is having a devastating impact on both businesses and the economy according to research from fraud prevention platform Ravelin. The analysis shows online fraud is increasing globally but has grown more in the UK in the last 12 months than any of the…
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The Government has launched a new HMRC fraud and error taskforce in a bid to recover overpayments made to UK taxpayers during the pandemic. The £100 million Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,200 HMRC staff will combat fraud and aims to recover up to £1.5 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments for the 2022/23 financial year.…
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A restaurant manager has been givena suspended sentence after using Covid Bounce Back loan to buy jewellery. The Manchester-based restaurant manager fraudulently obtained two Covid loans worth £100,000. Sehrish Yasmin was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Manchester Crown Court. The 32-year-old was also ordered to pay costs and compensation…
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Two in five (40%) SME decision-makers do not have protective measures against fraud and scamming in place, leaving them at risk of an incident or attack according to research by insights agency Opinium. The research, conducted among 500 senior decision makers at SMEs, found that this rises to 45% among SMEs in hospitality, food &…
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