Frauds

A man has been sentenced, after he sold invalid insurance policies and tried to take out car insurance for himself by covering up his driving offences and using a fake no-claims discount certificate.

Mohamed Choudhary, 33, of Plashet Grove, Newham, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Inner London Crown Court on 13 September 2024. He is also subject to a six month curfew, which runs daily from 9pm to 6am and is monitored by an electronic tag, and must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,630 in costs.

Sainsbury's bosses have spoken out about a self-checkout 'trick' being used by some customers to get money off their shopping. The supermarket giant has labelled it fraud and has launched a crackdown on the issue.

One trick being used is scanning money-off coupons repeatedly in order to get larger discounts on their shopping. Staff have also been put on alert for anyone presenting "fraudulent" coupons, while Sainsbury's said it had "in-store detectives monitoring for fraudulent attempts".

The London rental market has become a hub of fraudulent activity, according to one estate agent.

Benham and Reeves report that many London letting agents face significant challenges with tenant screening.

Last month the estate agent encountered issues such as forged passports, digitally altered documents, and undeclared CCJs.

An elderly man narrowly avoided being scammed out of £10,000 thanks to the help of a police officer and a slice of luck. The man had been contacted by a criminal claiming to be an officer from Derbyshire police.

The scammer told him that his bank card had been compromised and then sent a mobile phone to his address so they could contact him further. The next day, they told the man to go to the bank and withdraw £10,000 with the cover story of buying a car.

More than half a billion pounds has been lost to fraud so far this year, as the number of romance and purchase scams spiral.

The latest fraud data sent to the Government today by industry body UK Finance reveals a growing fraud epidemic.

A warning has been made over the risks of food fraud which is costing the UK up to £2 billion per year after Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standard Agency published their latest Food Crime Strategic Assessment.

Although the report found that the majority of food in the UK is safe and authentic, they do have concerns over the threat of food crime. Blame has largely been placed on huge recent geopolitical events around the world which have caused disruption in the food chain and left it open to fraud.

A recent High Court of England and Wales decision shows that the English courts are willing to interpret procedural service rules under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pragmatically to facilitate justice for victims of crypto fraud, an expert has said.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/en-gb/out-law/news/high-court-pragmatic-approach-protect-crypto-fraud-victims

Figures from the UK’s leading anti-fraud agency suggest pension scams have been on the increase since the cost of living crisis. Here’s how to keep your nest egg safe.

Almost £50,000 a day was stolen as a result of pension scams in 2023, new data from the UK’s leading fraud prevention agency has shown.

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/pensions/action-fraud-pension-scams-warning-fraudsters

A man who sold hundreds of puppies - many of which were unwell and later died - has avoided jail. Illegal puppy seller Richard Butler, 57, was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Friday.

He was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, and ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work in the community. Butler, from Springfield Farm, Rowley Park, Rugeley, pleaded guilty to three offences of fraud and one offence of making articles for use in fraud.

Head points to team's "continued determination" against fraudsters.

Allianz UK has reported a significant rise in fraudulent claims, particularly involving noise-induced hearing loss and fake businesses, during the first half of 2024. The increase in fraud detection has allowed the insurer to save £37.7 million in the half-year, with a notable portion stemming from casualty fraud cases, especially major loss fraud.

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/uk/news/claims/allianz-uk-outlines-fraudulent-insurance-claims-trends-504476.aspx