Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Fraud prevention service, Cifas has published its annual Fraudscape report which reveals a staggering 421,000 cases were filed to the National Fraud Database (NFD) in 2024 – a 13% increase and the highest number on record. The sharp rise is one of the largest annual increases ever observed by Cifas, underscoring the growing scale and…
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Two connected technology companies which claimed to protect people online and enhance their social media image have been shut down by the Insolvency Service following concerns they were running a direct debit scam. Manchester-based companies Affinity Technology Solutions Limited and RCSR Tech Limited were both wound-up at the High Court. Affinity claimed to offer a…
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More than two in three UK fintech companies (68%) are reporting higher fraud volumes compared with one year ago, according to new data published by Alloy. The research showed that 79% of UK fintechs say they lost at least £500,000 to fraud in the 12 months to October 2024. Two in five (38%) fintechs reported…
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New figures from Experian has found that that fraudsters deploying AI technology to combine personal information to create new identities highlighting the rise of ‘synthetic fraud’ in the UK. Analysis of confirmed fraudulent and potentially fraudulent credit applications shows that there was an increase of 60% in false identity cases in 2024 when compared to…
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A husband and wife whose furniture company went into liquidation owing customers almost £100,000 have both been banned as company directors. George and Williamina Hay were directors of DWH Trading Ltd, which sold adjustable beds and chairs, mostly to elderly and vulnerable customers, from their home address in Aberdeenshire. The company was struggling financially by…
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A Nottinghamshire construction boss who fraudulently removed more than £700,000 from four failing companies and transferred the money to his casino account has been jailed. Wesley Grainger-Smith fraudulently removed more than £702,050 from four struggling construction companies between 2014 and 2017 into his casino gaming account. Grainger-Smith was not the official director of any of…
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A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently claimed two maximum-value Covid loans by overstating his annual turnover by more than £350,000 has been jailed. Murat Dogantekin secured the Bounce Back Loans worth a combined £100,000 from two separate banks just months into the pandemic, when he was only actually entitled to just over £4,000 under the…
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A Bank business manager and his friend have been sentenced following an investigation into fraudulent accounts that helped them steal over £7.3 million. The two men from East London were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to a combined nine-and-a-half years in prison for opening bank accounts used to launder money from fraud. The sentencing follows…
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New survey results from Provenir have found that nearly half of all financial services executives are struggling with managing credit risk and detecting and preventing fraud. The survey also discovered that many financial services are revamping their credit risk decisioning and fraud prevention strategies in 2025, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing a prominent role. Over…
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An accountant who helped himself to £27,000 from the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme as part of a bigger Covid loans fraud has been jailed for three years and eight months. Zeeshan Ashraf claimed a total of £268,102.07 and tried to claim £52,732.66 that he was not entitled to from support schemes set up…
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Nearly a fifth (18%) of UK people have lied on their CVs and job applications in order to land a role, or know someone who has, in the last 12 months – research from the fraud prevention service, Cifas, has revealed. Its latest Fraud Behaviours Survey shows falsifying CV qualifications and supplying false information on…
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A new report from BioCatch, has revealed that criminals are targeting young people in the UK with nearly two-thirds (65%) of money mules in the UK being younger than 30. The report follows new research from Cifas which found that more than one-fifth (22%) of adults in the UK thought that money muling was legal. The NCA estimates…
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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) anticipates that fraud and scams will constitute 35% of its banking and loan cases in the 2025/26 financial year, translating to over 37,000 complaints. This marks an increase from the projected 33,000 cases by the end of the current financial year. FOS also expects to handle around 240,000 new complaints…
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