Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A criminal has been sentenced following a £2 million mandate fraud case by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU). Michael Grant, a former contractor working for a bank as a senior market data administrator and financial analyst, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position under the Fraud Act after commiting £2,260,729.09 of…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has expressed disappointment with banks’ anti-crime systems and their treatment of fraud victims. The FCA’s review found that banks were not fully considering customer vulnerabilities when handling fraud claims and complaints. Customers were provided with unclear and confusing decision letters, with some containing accusatory language. The FCA is working with…
Read more
New figures from UK Finance show that the number of authorised push payments (APP) fraud cases increased by 22% year-on-year to 116,324 in the six months to the end of June, as a result of an increasing number of consumers being conned into fake purchases online. Figures also show the volume of these purchase scams increased by 43%…
Read more
TransUnion has announced that it has partnered with London-based fintech company Tymit to help mitigate fraud risks whilst enabling friction-right experiences for consumers applying for Tymit’s pioneering instalment credit card. Tymit offers an alternative to traditional credit cards and buy now, pay later offerings and launched the world’s first instalment credit card. However, the credit…
Read more
A man from East London who enabled over £1 million of fraud has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison for fraud by abuse of position and money laundering. Said Hussain, sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, was a member of staff at a bank branch in East Ham. During his employment, he abused…
Read more
A recent Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) survey, conducted in association with Cifas has found that a substantial 10% of Britons lost money to scams or identity theft in the last 12 months, culminating in financial losses approximated at £7.5 billion. 62% of respondents indicated that they had received scam messages at least once per month,…
Read more
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has brought fraud charges against four individuals, including a former director, who oversaw the financial failure of a chain of almost 200 high street bakeries. The SFO has charged former director and Chief Financial Officer of Patisserie Holdings Plc for 12 years, Christopher Marsh, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh,…
Read more
Under 25s are more likely than older age groups to have been targeted by impersonation scams. An impersonation scam is where a criminal contacts you pretending to be a person or organisation you trust. These scams can be very sophisticated and often start with attempts to trick you into disclosing personal and financial information. Criminals…
Read more
A company Director who illegally took out a Bounce Back Loan has been jailed for 8 months after her overstated his company turnover in order to secure the taxpayer-backed funds. Aleksander Staskiewicz was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment at Southampton Crown Court on 17th August 2023, for offences contrary to the Fraud Act 2006 and…
Read more
New research from Canada Life has revealed that one in two (51%) adults have or know someone who has experienced a financial scam attempt in the last 12 months. This equates to approximately 26.8 million UK adults. Of these, 3.6 million went on to personally fall victim to the scam. The average amount lost to…
Read more
Plans to ban cold calls for financial products such as sham cryptocurrency schemes, mortgages and insurance have been set out with the launch of a consultation, marking the next step in delivering the Government’s Fraud Strategy. The eight-week consultation will cover proposals to ban cold calls offering any financial products to clamp down on fraudsters…
Read more
Over £55.5 million of fraud was prevented last year thanks to the Banking Protocol rapid scam response scheme, according to the latest figures from UK Finance. The Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme developed by UK Finance, National Trading Standards and local police forces. Bank and building society staff are trained to spot the warning…
Read more
Latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) has shown that fraud has returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels (no significant change); this suggests previous increases in fraud may have been specific to the coronavirus pandemic period, rather than a sustained change in trends Despite no significant change in fraud overall, there was…
Read more