Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
With the announcement this week that UK interest rates have risen to the highest level since 2009, Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, is warning that the rise in living costs could see a sharp rise in consumers and businesses being targeted by criminals. According to the latest Cifas data, fraud is already on…
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The Lending Standards Board (LSB) has published a series of updates to the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code (the CRM Code) to further strengthen what is the only set of protections of its kind for tackling Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. The three most significant updates to the Code will help improve customers’ understanding of how…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas has released its annual Fraudscape report, detailing the latest data and intelligence recorded by Cifas members during 2021. The report reveals that a new case of fraudulent conduct was filed by organisations every 90 seconds on average, with over 360,000 cases recorded to the National Fraud Database – an increase of…
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According to new research by TransUnion, 42% of consumers say they have been targeted by online fraud in the past three months. Among those targeted, the five most common scams faced were phishing (46%), third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail websites (25%), stolen credit card or fraudulent charges (23%), account takeover (20%) and identity…
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Latest UK Finance figures have indicated that bank staff have worked with the police to stop £202.8 million of fraud since 2016 with the help of the Banking Protocol scheme. National Trading Standards and local police forces stopped £60.7 million of fraud, 34% more than in 2020, with data showing that bank branch staff made…
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The government is encouraging organisations to be vigilant of cyber threats as new data reveals nearly a third of firms suffering cyber attacks hit every week. Businesses and charities are being urged to strengthen their cyber security practices with almost one in three businesses (31 per cent) and a quarter (26 per cent) of charities…
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The Government has announced changes to the Online Safety Bill to tackle scams and fraud. The measures mean that social media sites and search engines will be forced to stamp out fraudsters and scammers on their platforms as the government strengthens its pioneering internet safety laws. The move comes as the government also launches a consultation as…
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Victims are losing more to bank transfer scams every hour than the average UK worker earns a year, new research from Which? has revealed. A voluntary reimbursement code on bank transfer scams, also known as authorised push payment fraud (APP), was introduced in May 2019, and most major banks have signed up. It instructs them…
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Nearly one in 10 smartphone users in the UK (9%), as many as 5.7 million people, have fallen victim to identity fraud in the last 12 months, according to research by GBG, the experts in digital identity. GBG’s State of Digital Identity Report 2022 has revealed that young adults aged 18-to-24 were hardest hit with…
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Latest data from the National Fraud Hunter Prevention Service, analysed by Experian, found the detected fraud rate for cards rose by 42% between October and December 2021, when compared to the previous quarter, the highest rate since 2017. Typically, an increase in fraudulent activity is detected over the festive shopping period, but 2021 proved especially…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas is urging consumers to report fraud committed against the public purse as new research reveals one in ten people know someone dishonestly claiming a discount on their Council Tax Bill. Current rules mean any household with only one adult living at the address can claim a 25% discount on their Council…
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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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