Financial

AI fraud and deepfakes are identified as top challenges for UK banks, according to a new report.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, AI-generated fraud and deepfakes are emerging as primary concerns, according to Mitek Systems’ latest report, the Identity Intelligence Index 2024.

The study surveyed 1500 financial services risk and innovation professionals across the UK, the US, and Spain. Among the key findings, 76% of banks reported an escalation in the sophistication of fraud cases, reflecting the evolving nature of financial crime.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on 3 May it had secured the conviction of former investment manager David Kennedy for his part in a £100m investment fraud in which hundreds of people lost their savings, following a re-trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Kennedy and his business partner Timothy Schools managed the Cayman Island registered company Axiom Legal Finance Fund for over two years. They promised investors a secure return, by offering loans to UK law firms that were pursuing no-win-no-fee cases and where there was purportedly a high chance of success.

A multi-million pound fraud investigation – one of the biggest ever undertaken by North Yorkshire Police – has concluded after years of trials.

Investigators interviewed witnesses from across the UK, Europe, America and the Far East, and examined bank records linked to dozens of individuals and companies, as part of “Operation Circus Two”.

The Financial Conduct Authority has launched criminal proceedings against Lee Steven Maggs for two counts of fraud and one count of breaking the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2024/04/23/fca-launches-criminal-proceedings-over-2-6mn-investment-fraud/

Fraudsters are making millions by conning people into investing in rare whiskies which don’t exist or have already been bought by someone else.

Experts have warned the rise in whisky cask investment schemes are ripe for exploitation by con artists and the fraudulent market now worth more than £150million.

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.