Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
One in five people (15%) have provided personal information to someone before realising they were not genuine, according to new research from Nationwide. Among them is actress and broadcaster Lisa Riley MBE, who was tricked into providing personal information through a convincing scam that appeared completely legitimate. The research also found consumers are exposed to…
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Financial firms are shutting down hundreds of thousands of suspected money mule accounts, but organised criminal groups are still shifting dirty money through multiple bank accounts before cashing out, according to a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) survey. The FCA has found firms have closed an increasing number of suspected mule accounts over the last three…
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New analysis by Fico has shown that the UK financial services sector is making good strides in preventing fraud, as card fraud losses rose by just 2% year-on-year. This is in stark contrast to many European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Greece, where fraud losses have jumped by 15% or more year-on-year. Across…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas, has announced that Companies House is joining the National Fraud Database (NFD) membership. Identity fraud continues to be the most prevalent fraud type recorded to the NFD, accounting for 59% of all cases during the first half of 2026. With criminals increasingly using false or stolen identities, Companies House’s participation in…
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A London hotelier who blamed the banks for not chasing him over repayments has been sentenced after securing £450,000 in Covid loans at the height of the pandemic. Richard Courtenay’s nine Bounce Back Loan applications in May and June 2020 involved fraudulent declarations about the turnover of five companies and applying for multiple loans when…
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A disqualified company director has been jailed for running a football magazine business while banned. Yorkshire businessman Peter Etherington was the man behind Professional Player, described on social media as ‘a luxury lifestyle magazine’ read exclusively by professional footballers and their families. Etherington admitted acting as a director of the company which produced the magazine,…
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A director has been sentenced after fraudulently inflating his company’s turnover to secure Covid support, which he used to pay off his personal debts. Faruk Chowdhury falsely claimed his company had a turnover of £150,000 and that the Bounce Back Loan would be used for legitimate business purposes. Chowdhury’s company, Learn & Earn Ltd, showed…
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A fourth company director has been disqualified for their role in a scheme involving unauthorised banking transactions worth almost £14 million. Daryl Dylan allowed unarranged overdrafts with Barclays Bank to be used to make transfers of more than £1.6 million from the accounts of Oldcocdt Ltd and Oldcostl Ltd in 2021. Most of the transfers…
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A bogus care recruitment company that swindled overseas workers out of more than £19,000 by charging for visa sponsorship services it could not legally provide has been shut down. Medrecruiter Limited claimed to have nearly 6,000 carers on its books and be active in more than 500 care homes across the UK. In reality, Insolvency…
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A fraudster who illegally obtained five Covid loans at the height of the pandemic has been jailed. Cardiff-based Rupali Wagh fraudulently applied for £216,250 in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020. The 50-year-old inflated the turnover of her businesses to secure the loans and used some of the funds…
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A criminal from Preston has been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to six years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of fraud offences, including making purchases using stolen cards, gaining unauthorised access to someone’s online account, and intercepting parcels. The sentencing follows an investigation and arrest by a specialist, banking-industry-sponsored police unit, the…
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Fraud rates within Open Banking payments remain below wider UK payments industry benchmarks as adoption of Open Banking continues to grow, according to the first edition of the Open Banking Payments & Fraud Monitor, published today by Open Banking Limited (OBL). Drawing on data from account providers representing more than 60% of Open Banking payment…
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A Wolverhampton director has been sentenced for fraud and money laundering after pocketing £30,000 in Covid loans he was not entitled to. Sohail Cheema falsely declared his company’s turnover was £60,000 when applying to two separate banks for £15,000 Bounce Back Loans in 2020. His business, Sohail Cheema Limited, set up for him to gain…
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