Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research by Lowell has found out that over half of people have been targeted by fraud, with almost two-fifths (40%) of consumer have experienced payment card fraud. Fraudulent activity is taking place throughout the UK and the ways in which consumers are being targeted is constantly changing. Fraud committed using a debit or credit…
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The total value of alleged fraud cases £100,000 or above heard in UK courts increased by 151% from £444.7m in 2021 to £1.12bn in 2022, according to data released in KPMG UK’s latest Fraud Barometer. The figure for 2022 is similar to pre-pandemic values which saw a total value of £1.1bn for alleged fraud cases…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has required firms to amend or remove 8,582 promotions during 2022. The amendments were 14 times more than 2021. The FCA has also published over 1,800 alerts to help prevent consumers from losing their money to scams. Social media remains a major focus for the regulator’s work in combatting misleading…
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Experian has announced it has launched CreditLock, a new feature that will enable customers to lock their Experian Credit Report at the touch of a button. CreditLock allows CreditExpert and Identity Plus customers to ‘lock’ or ‘unlock’ their Experian Credit Report using a toggle switch in the app or online. Certain high-risk credit applications (such…
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Guaranty Trust Bank has been fined £7,671,800 over serious weaknesses in its systems and controls designed to prevent money laundering. The Financial Conduct Authority found serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019. During the relevant period, GT Bank failed to undertake adequate customer risk assessments, often not…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is warning festive shoppers of the risk of loan fee scams as fraudsters pile on the pressure at Christmas The FCA says that loan fee fraud this Christmas, with cases already up by a fifth on last year The research shows with the rising cost of living impacting consumers’ finances,…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Santander UK £107,793,300 after it found serious and persistent gaps in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls, affecting its Business Banking customers. An investigation found that between 31st December 2012 and 18th October 2017, Santander failed to properly oversee and manage its AML systems, which significantly impacted the account…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas is urging the Government to take action as cases of fraud continue to rise – raising concerns that 2023 may see the highest ever levels of fraud recorded. Latest figures reveal that there were over 309,000 cases recorded to the Cifas National Fraud Database, up 17% when compared to the same…
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Some banks may be leaving customers vulnerable to fraudulent spoofing attempts, according to an investigation by consumer group Which? Spoofing, where fraudsters impersonate legitimate companies, such as banks, utilities providers or government agencies, is a common tactic used to deceive victims. Ofcom estimates that 40.8 million UK adults have received a suspicious call or text…
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With UK Finance announcing that ‘the level of fraud in the UK is such that it must be considered a national security threat’ independent research by GBG has found that two in three (66%) people in the UK, nearly 36 million consumers, think that businesses are cutting corners when it comes to protecting them from fraud by failing to…
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The number of people searching online for ‘Fraud prevention’ has increased 22% this month. With a 17% increase in fraudulent activity year on year, there are more and more ways of becoming a victim of fraud according to analysis by credit management company Lowell. With millions of consumers being affected by the current energy crisis…
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Cases of fraud have continued to soar as the cost-of-living crisis pushes households to breaking point, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. In its Fraudscape report, Cifas figures reveal that the UK could be heading into 2023 with unprecedented levels of fraud. In the first nine months of 2022, over 309,000 cases were recorded to…
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The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned of a lack of progress in tackling criminal fraud. NAO analysis shows that fewer than one in two hundred cases of fraud reported to the police resulted in a criminal charge last year. The report shows that although the number of cases of reported fraud had risen from…
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