Frauds

Men are around twice as likely as women to have had their identity stolen, a survey suggests.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/men-more-likely-had-identity-000100861.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

West Mercia Police have seen a recent increase in reports of fraudsters operating in Shropshire, claiming to be from various police services around the country.

https://www.shropshirelive.com/news/2023/01/03/police-issue-courier-fraud-alert/

A rogue housebuilder, who previously worked as an estate agent in Cheshire, has been successfully prosecuted for fraud offences, after he left a string of unfinished extensions and shoddy home improvement projects across Southwark, and beyond.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/ex-estate-agent-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-fraud/

Police have issued a warning following a rise in rental fraud in north Wales – particularly in the Wrexham area.

https://www.wrexham.com/news/warning-issued-over-rise-in-rental-fraud-in-wrexham-228826.html

Warnings have been issued after a rise in reports of fraudsters claiming to be from the police and asking residents to withdraw money.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2022/12/30/vulnerable-and-elderly-targeted-in-elaborate-telephone-courier-fraud-scam/

A number of people across the Channel Islands have been affected after their NatWest bank cards have been illegally accessed.

https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2022-12-29/natwest-customers-in-the-channel-islands-affected-by-card-fraud

A fraudster from Blackburn has been jailed after helping to steal the entire life savings of an 84-year-old woman.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/blackburn-fraudster-helped-dupe-elderly-lady-out-of-her-entire-life-savings/ar-AA15C0a9

A pair of romance fraudsters have been jailed for conning five victims they met on dating sites out of £200,000.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/camberwell-romance-fraudsters-jailed-200k-123907689.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

A fake builder scammed 11 people out of more than £1 million and left families with wrecked homes to fund his gambling habit. Richard Nicholls, 38, left his victims with unfinished extensions and carried out shoddy home improvement work before asking them to pick up the bill.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/uk-world-news/fake-builder-scammed-11-people-25846156

Increasingly individuals across the UK are meeting people online, on social networks, through online gaming, dating platforms, anywhere people chat online - and therefore more and more people are building relationships with people they’ve never met in person.

https://crimestoppers-uk.org/campaigns-media/campaigns/tackling-romance-fraud