Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New identity checks for company directors should be introduced to help reduce business fraud, says Tim Cooper, chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland. A Government consultation into enhancing the role played by Companies House in the UK’s anti-fraud framework, which recently closed, provides a real opportunity to significantly strengthen the UK’s…
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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the Government to tackle crime against small businesses as a priority and help to plug the billions that are being lost in the economy every year as a result. Hiring new police officers will be crucial to tackling business crime in England and Wales and making…
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A new report from insurance specialist Gallagher finds that a significant proportion of UK SMEs are exposing themselves to severe and lasting impacts of a crisis incident, through lack of preparation, protocols protection and review. Crisis incidents, such as cyber-attacks, extortion, industrial espionage and terrorism, are costing UK SMEs billions of pounds a year. Furthermore,…
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Small businesses are collectively subject to almost 10,000 cyber-attacks a day, according to new findings from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) One in five (20%) small firms say a cyber-attack has been committed against their business in the two years to January 2019. More than seven million individual attacks are reported over the same…
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Major UK banks will have checks in place to confirm the recipients of money transfers by 2020, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has said. The ‘Confirmation of Payee’ service will see lenders cross-reference names with sort codes and account numbers to ensure funds are being sent to the right recipient. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR)…
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The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA), the membership body and regulator for those specialising in insolvency practice, has published its first formal strategy to deal with the requirements placed on the IPA as a Professional Body Supervisor (PBS) under the 2017 Money Laundering Regulation (MLR17). The strategy is an important part of the IPA’s work in…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Bank of Scotland (BOS) £45.5 million for failures to disclose information about its suspicions that fraud may have occurred at the Reading-based Impaired Assets (IAR) team of Halifax Bank of Scotland. The FCA found that BOS failed to be open and cooperative and failed to disclose information appropriately…
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Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service, has published its annual report which indicates that Identity fraud has reached a record high. The Fraudscape report data identifies and analyses the country’s fraud trends based on 323,660 cases of fraudulent conduct recorded in 2018. The data, from over 470 organisations, including major UK brands from across the…
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Invoice finance and trade finance company, Working Capital Partners, have been placed into Administration. According to reports, the insolvency appears to be as a result of recent client fraud. Working Capital Partners, were also members of UK Finance (the industry body for the asset finance sector. The company offered a selective invoice finance service, a…
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Banks cannot delay tackling transfer fraud a single day longer, according to new research by Which? The research shows that a staggering £674 a minute is lost to this devastating crime. The consumer champion is calling for all banks to urgently reassure their customers that they will be better protected against fraudsters by signing up…
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The number of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about fraud and scams has surged to record highs, figures show. The 40% rise in grievances after people have been tricked out of their money has pushed the overall number of complaints to its highest level in five years. For the first time in ten…
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Companies will be better protected from fraud, under new Companies House reforms that will do more to safeguard the personal data of business owners and ensure the accuracy of the register. Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst has unveiled a substantial package of reforms to Companies House. With the clear aim of minimising the burden on law-abiding…
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New analysis from KPMG UK finds the rising prominence of so-called ‘zombie firms’ is threatening to cause a significant drag-effect on the UK economy. KPMG’s analysis looks at the last three annual accounts of listed UK companies (FTSE and AIM) reveals that 8% of UK companies currently display zombie-like symptoms. But based on the latest…
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