Frauds

A landlord has appeared in court charged with 89 alleged offences including theft, extortion and fraud.

Mark Fortune, 55, made no plea as he appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday, May 28.

He was charged of 35 counts of theft, 36 charges under legislation related to unlawful evictions and harassment of tenants, two of extortion and three of fraud.

https://news.stv.tv/east-central/edinburgh-landlord-mark-fortune-facing-89-charges-including-theft-and-fraud

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.

The number of reported cases of romance scams has soared, rising 29 pc in the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2022.

Which? have issued a stern warning to people heading on their summer holidays with four popular scams catching unsuspecting travellers out.

Action Fraud say that there were 6,640 reports of fraud relating to holidays in 2023 alone, with £12.3m lost to scammers in total.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/experts-issue-warning-over-four-140907381.html

West Mercia Police are urging pensioners to be vigilant after more than £200k was lost in the region to courier fraud.

The force has revealed that they received 121 reports of fraudsters 'purporting to be police officers or bank officials’ between April 2023 and March 2024.

£233,659 was lost in the region to courier fraud with £28.7 million nationwide.

A new study from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed that a significant number of individuals remain unaware of “ad spoofing,” a method used by fraudsters to deceive people who have experienced road traffic accidents into using illegitimate websites.

According to the survey, 81% of respondents who were aware of insurance fraud had never heard of this tactic.

Two men are to stand trial for alleged involvement in a £150,000 car purchasing scam across Northern Ireland, a judge has ordered.

Thomas Roberts (30) and Shane McDonagh (25) are accused of defrauding seven victims through bogus online vehicle sales.

The defendants, both of Coppermill Road, Staines in England, were arrested in May last year following a lengthy police investigation.

In a notable victory against organised fraud, car insurance broker 1st Central and insurance law firm Keoghs have won five tort of deceit claims against a fraud ring, resulting in over £140,000 in damages awarded.

The policy hijack scam involved alleged at-fault accidents occurring far from the policyholder’s address, claimants (the supposed driver and passengers of the third-party vehicle) also residing long distances from the collision site, and a single individual reporting multiple incidents.

Victims lost an average of £20,032 to the scams, where fraudsters pose as police officers or bank officials and trick householders into handing over money, valuables or bank cards to a courier.

City of London Police said on Tuesday that people in their 80s were the most likely to be targeted and accounted for 43% of all victims, according to data from Action Fraud.

https://www.perspectivemedia.com/more-than-28-7m-lost-to-courier-scams-which-target-the-elderly/

When mum-of-three Natalie Foster confronted the scammer after losing her life savings in a fraudulent crypto trade, the person claiming to be "James" told her to "go and die quickly"

A single mum-of-three has lost her life savings after being swindled by an evil crypto scammer.

Natalie Foster, 42, from Windsford, Cheshire, matched with a man who called himself "James" on Tinder three weeks ago. The pair hit it off immediately before he started talking incessantly about crypto.

• £1.17 billion was stolen last year – amounting to £3.2 million every day
• There was a 50% increase in the number of people hit by “authorised” payment scams between 2020 and 2023
• £36.5 million was stolen in romance scams – up 17% on a year earlier
• 64p for every £1 stolen was reimbursed to victims, up from 59p in the £1 a year earlier

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, comments on the UK Finance Annual Fraud report 2024:

https://ifamagazine.com/brits-lose-3-2-million-a-day-to-fraudsters-as-authorised-scams-rise/