One in five lied about university degree to secure employment

4th February 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Nearly a fifth (18%) of UK people have lied on their CVs and job applications in order to land a role, or know someone who has, in the last 12 months – research from the fraud prevention service, Cifas, has revealed. Its latest Fraud Behaviours Survey shows falsifying CV qualifications and supplying false information on…

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65% of money mules are under 30

31st January 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

A new report from BioCatch, has revealed that criminals are targeting young people in the UK with nearly two-thirds (65%) of money mules in the UK being younger than 30. The report follows new research from Cifas which found that more than one-fifth (22%) of adults in the UK thought that money muling was legal. The NCA estimates…

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Fraud cases forecasted to increase

24th January 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) anticipates that fraud and scams will constitute 35% of its banking and loan cases in the 2025/26 financial year, translating to over 37,000 complaints. This marks an increase from the projected 33,000 cases by the end of the current financial year. FOS also expects to handle around 240,000 new complaints…

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Half of adults feel first-party fraud is acceptable

24th January 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Latest research from Cifas has shown that nearly half (48%) of adults believe it is ‘reasonable’ to commit first-party fraud. First-party fraud, when someone knowingly misrepresents their identity or provides false information for financial or material gain, is on the rise. Examples include exaggerating salaries on mortgage applications, ordering goods online and falsely claiming they…

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Government announces new measures to seize fraudsters’ money

23rd January 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud regulation

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced new measures which could see welfare fraudsters, who cheated the taxpayer out of £7 billion last year,  banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to reimburse the public and repay their debt. As part of new legislation set to be introduced in Parliament to deliver the biggest…

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Criminals sentenced after defrauding victims out of over £1m

20th January 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Two men from London have been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after intercepting postal correspondence and using confidential information to steal money from bank accounts. The case was investigated by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit sponsored by the banking industry. The unit acted after the bank alerted…

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Warning over rise of rogue retailers

Lloyds Bank is warning that rogue retailers are preparing to rip off shoppers in the January sales, offering big online discounts to lure people into purchasing items that are never dispatched. The number of rogue retailers identified by Lloyds in January 2024 was 140% higher than the normal monthly average across the year, indicating that…

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Three sentenced for using SIM farm to steal over £220,000

20th December 2024 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Three men from London have been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to a combined six years and nine months for using a SIM farm to send out masses of fraudulent texts and calls, conning victims out of an overall sum of £223,183.53. The sentencing follows an investigation and arrest by specialist banking industry sponsored…

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Identity fraud costing the UK an estimated £1.8bn every year

10th December 2024 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Identity fraud continues to grow and now costs the UK an estimated £1.8 billion each year. It is one of the most common case types filed to the Cifa sNational Fraud Database by its 750-plus industry members – accounting for 64% of all filings in 2023 with more than 237,000 identity fraud cases recorded. Industry…

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Fraud complaints hit record high

28th November 2024 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Complaints regarding banks’ handling of fraud have reached a record high, with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) reporting 9,091 cases from July to September, a significant increase from 6,264 in the same period last year. This surge includes 4,956 cases related to authorised push payment (APP) scams, where consumers mistakenly send money to fraudsters. In…

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Scammers stole £11.4bn in the last 12 months

26th November 2024 Consumer Lending | #fraud

A report by Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s (GASA) conducted in association with UK’s leading fraud prevention service, Cifas  has revealed UK people lost £11.4 billion to scams in the last 12 months, up £4 billion on last year. With Black Friday imminent and expected to trigger a spike in scam attempts this week, GASA and Cifas are…

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Fraud victims shun new money methods

22nd November 2024 Consumer Lending | #fraud#payments

Research by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) reveals that 36% of fraud victims are now hesitant to adopt new money management methods with vulnerable groups are particularly affected. Almost one in five fraud victims said their experience left them feeling anxious or depressed, while half reported a diminished trust in others. A third of victims…

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FCA charges four individuals with fraud offences relating to failed Credit Union

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started criminal proceedings against four individuals for conspiracy to commit false accounting, with three of them facing further charges for fraud.  Terry Dodd, John Riley and Brian Flanagan have been charged with fraudulently abusing their positions as directors of the Dial-A-Cab Credit Union for their own personal gain.  …

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