Posts

A fraudster has been jailed and ordered to pay back money he made in a property rental scam.

Following a series of reports to Action Fraud, Zhaker Darvesh has been jailed for conning victims into paying him thousands of pounds in deposits for rental properties. Darvesh advertised properties on Gumtree and collected deposits from victims, ranging anything from £9,500 to £3,200. Some of his victims were left in horror after arriving at properties on move-in dates only to find they had been scammed.

Darvesh would stop replying to messages, calls and emails from victims when he had received their … Read more

Bluegreen vacations has opened the doors to its 2nd timeshare resort in New Orleans.

Bluegreen Vacations already offers La Pension, a boutique hotel located in the centre of New Orleans. However, the latest resort is in stark contrast, The Marque brings both history and modern technology together to create a unique experience for timeshare owners.

The Marquee will offer Bluegreen timeshare members an ‘immersive guest experience’, using augmented reality, this is the first time a timeshare resort has implemented this type of technology.

The property itself offers an owner’s lounge, where members can relax with a drink, play pool … Read more

Two men sentenced for money laundering in a betting scam which netted them £3.5 million, have been ordered to pay back some of their ill-gotten gains to victims.

The two men were involved in a complex case of money laundering which police believe they had been running for about 5 years. They were alerted to the two men by Action Fraud, who received complaints from members of the public.

Both men pled guilty in February this year, to money laundering and David Head, who is thought to be the ringleader, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and Lee Taylor was … Read more

The Money Shop has set aside an £18million compensation pot for customers who were wrongly lent money to.

According to various news reports, it is believed the payday lender is preparing to close for good and The Money Shop is writing to its some 2 million customers offering them financial settlements for mis-sold payday loans.

The Money Shop has already started the process of closing some of its branches, reducing from 600 to around 200. Some of the branches have already been sold off to pawnbroker H&T Group and The Money Shop is expected to close the stores it cannot … Read more

Travellers are risking bankruptcy by failing to declare medical issues.

Experts have issued a stern warning, that failure to withhold health information to insurers could have devastating financial implications.

Speaking in a debate on under declaration of medical conditions Dr Paul Beven, managing director of Healix Risk Rating, Said: “You wouldn’t want to have the warning ‘Failure to disclose a pre-existing condition puts your house at risk’ on every page, but it’s important to get the message across. Always make sure you completely declare your medical conditions. It’s easy and simple to do it. And you will get offered a … Read more

Budget airline Ryanair says it plans to close some of its bases and will fly fewer passengers.

Ryanair has warned they plan to downsize and close some of its airport locations because of the delays to deliveries of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft. The airline says it will reduce the number of flights it operates next summer and now expects to carry 157 million passengers in the year to March 2021, rather than 162 million.

Ryanair said the shortfall in aircraft deliveries will mean “some base cuts and closures” for the winter and next summer, and it has started talking to … Read more

Vulnerable and elderly people are being targeted by scammers and coerced into spending thousands of pounds on designer watches and other expensive purchases in a new type of courier fraud.

Harrods and Watches of Switzerland say their staff have repeatedly prevented people from spending large sums of money they were being coerced into giving to fraudsters waiting for them outside. The stores say that the problem has become so serious that the shops have ordered their store detectives to not only be on the look out for thieves, but also watch out for shoppers who appear to be making purchases … Read more

The reporting service is asking members of the public to be vigilant as individuals are pretending to be police officers and traffic wardens and targeting members of the public.

 Action Fraud the reporting service, has received an increase number of reports of fraudsters claiming to be police officers or traffic wardens. The service says that most of the people being targeted are elderly and vulnerable.

Action Fraud say they have received 33 reports since January 2019 of victims being targeted by fraudsters pretending to be police officers and traffic wardens.

Victims are being approached while in the car park … Read more

Action Fraud have released a warning to those with pension pots to protect, that scammers are targeting everyone with a pension, no matter how big or small.

Pension scams can be hard to spot. Scammers can be articulate and financially knowledgeable, with credible websites, testimonials and materials that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. Some victims of pension scams have lost more than £1m to fraudsters, according to new figures, amid a surge in criminal activity targeting the savings of over-55s.

While the average amount swindled out of pension scam victims was £91,000, some people had lost … Read more

A conman who scammed £113 million In UK’s biggest cyber scam is jailed for 11 years.

Feezan Choudhary was jailed in 2016 for 11 years after a court heard how he had orchestrated a huge scam where he targeted 750 RBS and Lloyds customers and stole a combined total of £113 million from their accounts.

“Vishing” or “voice phishing” is a type of phone fraud in which the scammer manipulates the victim into sharing private financial information which can then be used to make cash transfers. Choudhary was dubbed “The Voice” by police because he put on Scottish, Welsh and … Read more