Frauds

Supplier invoice fraud is continuing to present a significant threat to businesses in the UK. UK Finance has reported that invoice fraud losses hit £50.3m in 2023 which represents an increase of 2% on the previous year.

Invoice fraud tends to arise in circumstances where either (i) a fraudster sets up an email address that is very similar to the actual supplier’s email address or (ii) the supplier’s genuine email address is hacked. In both circumstances, the fraudster will tend to change the payment details in the invoice so that the payment is sent to the fraudster’s bank account.

https://www.stephens-scown.co.uk/business-disputes/supplier-invoice-fraud-who-ends-up-paying-the-bill/

Police in Glasgow are investigating cases of suspected voter fraud.

Glasgow City Council reported four cases of alleged “personation” following Thursday’s poll.

The offence occurs when a person votes as someone else.

Authorised push payment (APP) fraud is the biggest threat to customers and businesses over the next 12 months, an industry survey finds.

Two-thirds of the UK’s payments industry, made up of banking providers, crypto services, and technology companies, think the scam is the most pressing type of fraud issue.

A phantom passenger claim in its simplest form is an injury claim from a person that was not present in a vehicle involved in a crash. It is certainly one of the more brazen ways to pursue a fraudulent injury claim by attempting to circumvent any fraud detection process and acquire a quick compensation pay out.

Identifying claims for further investigation can be as straightforward as noticing that there are more claimants than seats in a vehicle, the at-fault driver disputing the presence of a passenger, or there are photographs / video footage showing vehicle occupancy.

Aviva has seen a significant uptick in fraudulent claims for 2023, the insurer said in a recent news release.

Aviva revealed a 39% increase in fraudulent claims, with more than 11,000 suspect claims valued at £116 million – averaging 30 bogus claims daily worth £318,000. Additionally, the insurer is investigating 13,100 more claims for potential fraud.

They created "multiple false identities" including fake bank accounts and continued to make claims even after being arrested.

A couple who fraudulently claimed more than £700,000 in benefits were caught at the Channel Tunnel as they tried to flee the country. Wojciech Kowalski and Wiktoria Packowska created "multiple false identities" including fake bank accounts, identity documents and utility bills.

They made more than 80 false claims across a three-year period. But their crimes came to light when they attempted to leave the UK on Sunday, June 14 2020.

The ongoing economic challenges in the UK have significantly impacted families nationwide, forcing individuals and businesses to cope with rising bills and soaring interest rates. Amid this financial uncertainty, there has been a noticeable increase in expense fraud, which poses serious implications for businesses across the country.

A survey conducted by Emburse, involving over 1,000 workers and facilitated by YouGov, highlights the prevalence of expense fraud. The findings reveal that nearly a quarter (24%) of employees admit to making personal purchases and passing them off as business expenses due to their financial circumstances.

Walking the floor at the recent Merchant Risk Council (MRC) annual Las Vegas conference, I was struck by how often one particular topic kept coming up in my conversations with merchants across different verticals and sizes: refund fraud. Industry leaders and practitioners are seeing rampant refund abuse, representing a significant source of financial loss for businesses globally.

https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/26347/tackling-the-surge-in-refund-fraud-a-growing-concern-for-e-commerce-merchants

Postal vote fraud convictions are very low in the UK.

Reform UK’s “contract”, released on June 17, included a section on reforming the absent voting system, saying “postal voting has allowed electoral fraud”.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2024/06/19/fact-check-little-evidence-of-postal-vote-fraud-in-the-uk/

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says it received nearly 9,000 reports of romance fraud last year totalling £94.7m, an increase of 8.4 per cent on the previous year. The City of London Police run body said that the average loss per person amounts to £10.7k.

Romance fraud is when people are defrauded into sending money to criminals who go to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them that they are in a genuine relationship. Often victims are groomed for more than a year before the fraud takes place; it is targeted financially, emotionally, and psychologically, with nearly half of victims meeting the fraudster via a dating site