Financial

Cases of bank fraud have been rising so it is important to be aware of how to spot fraud before you become a victim. Fraudsters are becoming well adept knowing how to target and scam people to gain access to accounts or to steal money from you. Don't be embarrassed and make sure you act as soon as you realise.

Contact your bank

If you think you are a victim of fraud your first step should be calling your bank as soon as you know to explain the situation.

https://www.finance-monthly.com/2024/04/what-to-do-if-you-are-a-victim-of-bank-fraud/

Two suspects have been charged in connection with a gambling investment scam based in Folkestone which is alleged to have defrauded victims out of more than £5 million.

Nathan Burgoyne and Paul Northcott are alleged to have persuaded at least 130 investors from both the UK and abroad to put money into a complex online betting process called Apex Algorithms.

More than £612 million was lost to investment fraud in the UK last year, according to City of London Police.

And people aged 55 or over were the most likely to be targeted by investment fraud, the new figures show.

The data from Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, revealed the soaring rate of investment fraud in the last year, with a reported £612,208,663 in losses.

Investment scams have cost victims more than £2.6bn since the start of 2020, a freedom of information request from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has revealed.

The data from the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau revealed that there was almost 100,000 victims of investment fraud between 2020 and 2023, with 2023 seeing the highest number of victims in the four years covered in the research at 26,470.

A thousand fraud victims could be stuck in limbo because of an ongoing row between Revolut and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Telegraph understands that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud have been left out of pocket for months as Revolut is pushing back on the adjudicator’s recommendations to refund them in some cases.

More than £2.6bn has been stolen through investment fraud in the UK since the start of 2020.

Following a Freedom of Information request to the City of London Police National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, the Pensions Management Institute found there were 98,525 victims of investment fraud between January 2020 and December 2023.

https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2024/04/02/more-than-2-6bn-stolen-through-investment-fraud-since-2020/

Two former bankers found guilty of rigging key interest rates have had their appeal against their convictions dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo were among 37 City traders prosecuted for manipulating rate benchmarks, Libor and Euribor.

Both men spent time in prison before being released in 2021.

The banking industry’s answer to 999 now covers nearly all UK current accounts as Monzo joins the anti-fraud service, with the digital lender recently facing criticism for its performance in tackling scams.

Monzo, which now boasts more than 9m British customers, has become part of the 159 hotline created by Stop Scams UK, an industry body backed by the Financial Conduct Authority and Ofcom.

Ringing the 159 number puts callers directly through to staff at their banking provider, who can give advice to help work out whether they are being targeted by scammers.

The Financial Conduct Authority has charged Bruce Rowan, David Simmons, Robert Sweeney and Justin Russell with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

The four individuals allegedly ran an unauthorised investment scheme which defrauded investors out of £3.9mn.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2024/03/22/fca-charges-4-individuals-over-alleged-3-9mn-investment-fraud/

Bosses from the UK’s biggest high street banks have told MPs that social media companies could do more to prevent the increasing amount of fraud originating on their platforms.

UK chief executives from Barclays, Lloyds, Natwest and Santander said in a Treasury Committee session that they were doing more work with social media and telecommunications firms to prevent fraud but that there was still progress to be made.