Credit, collections & insolvency news
The number of alleged fraud cases heard in UK courts in 2021 went up by 66 per cent compared to the same time in 2020 according to new analysis by KPMG. KPMG UK’s Fraud Barometer found that despite another lengthy Covid -19 lockdown at the start of 2021, UK courts appear to have got back…
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A student who took out Bounce Back Loan faces 9-years of bankruptcy restrictions after he abused government support available for businesses during the pandemic. Kurt Barkhuizen applied for and received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in June 2020. Barkhuizen was not running a business at the time and was not eligible for any funding through…
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The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) confirmed and published a new rule that paves the way for more banks and building societies to adopt Confirmation of Payee (CoP), the bank account name checking service. Every year thousands of individuals and businesses fall victim to Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams – where they are tricked into sending…
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The ONS has released crime figures with reported crimes to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau from Action Fraud, Cifas and UK Finance that showed there were 5.1 million fraud offences in the year to September 2021, up 36% from two years earlier with 26% of victims lost money that was never paid back. The statistics…
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One in 40 shoppers has admited to falsely claiming a refund when shopping online in the last 12 months according to new research by fraud prevention service Cifas. The consumers admitted they had falsely claimed a refund for an online purchase by stating the item hadn’t been received. A further one in tenconsumers knew someone…
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The HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) has recovered more than £1 billion from the proceeds of crime. More than £1 billion has been recovered from the proceeds of crime and tax offenders since the formation of a specialist HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fraud squad 5 years ago. Launched in April 2016, the department’s Fraud…
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Wealthier people are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters according to research by Saltus Wealth. The research found that half of high-net-worth individuals have been victims of financial crime, rising to almost two-thirds of those with assets of more than £2 million. The Saltus Wealth Index surveyed more than 1,000 people in the UK…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined HSBC Bank £63,946,800 for failings in its anti-money laundering (AML) processes. HSBC used automated processes to monitor hundreds of millions of transactions a month to identify possible financial crime. However, the FCA found that three key parts of HSBC’s transaction monitoring systems showed serious weaknesses over a period…
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A parliamentary committee has published a report on the draft Online Safety Bill calling for dangerous online paid-for adverts, such as those promoting scams, to be included within the Bill. A coalition of consumer groups, charities, policing leads and financial services industry bodies, including Which?, UK Finance, Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert, the Personal Investment Management…
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Latest research by Cifas reveals 1 in 13 UK adults have been involved in fraudulent conduct during the last year. Those aged between 16-34 were most likely to be involved, with more than 1 in 7 admitting to participating in being involved in at least one form of first-party fraud. The most common forms of…
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NatWest has been fined £264,772,619.95 following convictions for three offences of failing to comply with money laundering regulations. It was found that the bank failed to properly monitor the activities of jeweller Fowler Oldfield between November 2012 and June 2016. The Bradford-based jeweller deposited £365 million with the bank over a five-year period, including £264 million…
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A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) says the Government only put basic anti-fraud checks on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) for small firms once more than £28 billion had already been paid out. The British Business Bank stepped up to deliver the Bounce Back Loan Scheme on behalf of Government to ensure…
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A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) says the Government only put basic anti-fraud checks on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) for small firms once more than £28 billion had already been paid out. Checks to ensure that a company was not applying for more than one bounce back loan were not put…
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