Scams

When you think about the concept of being scammed online, you naturally think the person who might do it to you is an immoral individual, but early this year I was told about "forced scamming," which changed how I thought about the idea entirely.

Forced scamming is one of the most complex and fastest-growing forms of modern slavery in the world.

A retired woman who lost £10,500 after being scammed on Instagram whilst buying garden furniture fears she'll never get her savings back.

66-year-old Sian Brooker from Cwmbran was scrolling through the social media channel when she spotted what she thought was a good offer online.

A director at TSB Bank has warned a group of top MPs that Facebook Marketplace and cryptocurrency investment are major breeding grounds for scams amid calls for Big Tech to take more responsibility for a wave of fraud on social media.

The Home Affairs Committee heard from major banking and communications firms heard on Wednesday as part of its inquiry into fraud, which makes up around 40 per cent of crime in England and Wales.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a fresh call for social media firms to do more to prevent mass fraud on their platforms, City A.M. can reveal.

The City watchdog said in a report on Thursday that it issued 2,286 warnings last year alerting consumers about firms and individuals operating without its authorisation, up 21 per cent from 1,882 in 2022.

A “heartless” fraudster who stole £80,000 from Nationwide bank customers via a telephone banking scam has been jailed for three years and ten months.

Edward Trustworth, 30, of Tottenham, would use stolen card details to make purchases such as luxury watches.

A fraudster who promised energy savings and complete home security through his products and services has been found guilty of conning elderly and vulnerable residents out of £1.5million.

https://westbridgfordwire.com/fraudster-conned-elderly-victims-in-1-5-million-energy-and-security-scam/

A rogue trader in Cornwall has been jailed for conning people out of £355k.

Sean David McCann, from St Kew in Bodmin, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday 18 January.

Following an extensive investigation by Cornwall Council Trading Standards, the 48-year-old entered guilty pleas to five charges at an earlier hearing.

The total for 2022 was more than double the £31.5m reported as lost to Action Fraud in the previous 12 months.

Social media users caught in financial scams lost nearly £75 million to fraudsters in the space of a year, figures suggest.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2024/01/11/social-media-users-report-losing-75m-to-financial-scams-in-one-year/

A Glen Parva man has spoken of his heartbreak after he was "scammed" out of his £100,000 life savings. Paul Henderson received three separate phone calls from what he thought was The Co-operative bank fraud department on Wednesday, December 13.

84-year-old Paul said that he had to request a new visa card two weeks prior because the one attached to his account was used for a £30 fraudulent transaction. Because of this, he did not have any reservations when he received a call from what he thought was the fraud team.

UK consumers lost £75mn to financial scams on social media in one year alone, with a total of 3,597 reports to the police about investment fraud.

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau by comparison site Good Money Guide, Instagram was mentioned in more than half of cases, followed by Facebook with 1,193 reports.

https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2024/01/11/savers-lose-75mn-a-year-to-financial-scams-on-social-media/