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Conmen Caught And Jailed !

Charity conman Jailed.

A lorry driver who pocketed money he raised for the young son of murdered soldier, Lee Rigby, has been jailed for two and a half years. The court heard haw Gary Gardner, raised about £24,000 but only £4,000 made its way to any charity.

Gardner put on three truck-pull events, and thousands of people attended, including Lee Rigby’s widow and son. He was convicted of two counts of fraud.

The court heard how Gardner, a lorry driver, staged events in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the Leicestershire village. He also spent £5,000 on producing and promoting … Read more

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Five Jailed For £2.8 Million Boiler Room Scam

Five men have been jailed for a total of nearly 18 years, following a criminal prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority. They have been found guilty of scamming more than 170 victims out of £2.8 million, in a complex boiler room scam.

The judge said “Some victims lost everything they had” and “their stories were at times positively heart-breaking.” He added that elderly people had been specifically targeted.

The men worked in a boiler room, where they cold called victims and using high pressure sales tactics, sold worthless and overpriced investments to the public. The name boiler room refers to … Read more

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Couple Lose £272,000 as holiday home dream collapses !

Police have been called in to investigate after a couple from Bristol lose a holiday home and £272,000 in life savings, after the collapse of a £10 million foreign exchange firm. Civil servants, Bryn and Trish Pailing were fortunate enough to retire early and were about to complete the purchase of a dream home on Portugal’s Algarve coast.

It all began when the couple attended a ‘Place In The Sun’ exhibition in 2015 and met with Premier FX, who were sponsoring a Portuguese stand. They spoke with company representatives, who explained they acted as a foreign exchange company, that … Read more

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Latest Finance and Business News

Government saves £300m in two years by preventing fraud and error.

The government’s national Fraud Initiative (NFI) has saved over £300 million in taxpayers money, in a two year period. Chloe Smith, Minister for the Constitution, has announced over £300 million in savings, made from clamping down on fraud and error. “We are determined to build a fairer society and stopping a small group of unscrupulous people, who break the law, will help us achieve this”.

Over the last two years, NFI has saved over £300 million in taxpayers money, the equivalent of the annual salary for 7,843 full time … Read more

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Financial Ombudsman Service Tells Banks To ‘Stop Blaming Victims’ !

In their latest newsletter, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has warned banks to treat victims of financial fraud more fairly, instead of assuming the victim was grossly negligent and to blame.

FOS see thousands of complaints from customers, who have had money stolen from their accounts, and assesses cases where the bank and customer both say they are not responsible for the loss.

Often victims have had their life savings stolen in sophisticated scams and to make matters worse, the banks often refuse to reimburse their customers when this happens. As state-of-art scams become more prevalent and more convincing, the … Read more

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Scams We Should All Be On The Lookout For

Here are just some of the scams we should be on the lookout for.

Police are warning people over doorstep scammers who pose as ex-offenders. The scam involves people posing as ex-offenders going door to door selling items and Greater Manchester Police force are so concerned they have issued a warning. Bogus sellers are posing as reformed criminals and targeting homes in and around Greater Manchester.

Scammers have been visiting homes and telling residents that they are working as part of a probation service scheme, officers say there is no such scheme and have warned residents not to answer the … Read more

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Crackdown on Fraud must target new generation of online scams.

As people are becoming more and more aware of the types of scams out there, scammers are having to create new ones, to replace the old ones. We are all aware of Phising but have you heard about Vishing, Spoofing, Twishing and Smishing ?

Neither had we, but these are just some of the digital-age scams financial investigations unit’s all over the country are looking at. Here are some of the scams to look out for.

First there was Phishing, where fraudsters send out spoof emails in an attempt to steal personal information, such as passwords and banks … Read more

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Holidaymakers be warned, timeshare scams haven’t gone away !

Trading Standards are warning holidaymakers to be on alert whilst traveling abroad, for salespeople pressuring people into buying timeshares and holiday products, which could lead to people being parted with thousands of pounds of their hard earned cash.

Trading standards have seen a growing number of complaints from holidaymakers, regarding timeshare sales, holiday clubs, timeshare resale and timeshare exit companies. The watchdog is warning consumers not to let their guard down.  Warwickshire County Councillor, Andy Crump said: “Trading Standards are concerned that holidaymakers are still being approached whilst abroad and enticed by offers of further holiday accommodation opportunities, to … Read more

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Crash For Cash Ringleaders Jailed

A colossal crash for cash scam, which netted £2 million for its ringleaders, has seen more than 150 people convicted for submitting bogus claims.

 

The full scale of the fraud can now be revealed, as the final 3 defendants in the case have been convicted. All of the parties involved have either admitted or been convicted of the conspiracy to defraud.

What is Crash for Cash?

The car in front of you slams on their brakes for no reason, leaving you with no time to react and resulting in you hitting them. Another example is where a driver flashes … Read more

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American Timeshare Fraudster Arrested In The Philippines

An American telemarketer wanted in the US for allegedly committing $6 Million worth of fraud, has been caught, after 6 years on the run.

 

Osvaldo Gonzales was initially arrested by authorities in the Philippines on suspicion of domestic violence. As Gonzales was not a permanent resident in the Philippines, authorities checked records held by the National Bureau Of Investigations. This showed he was wanted in the US for wire fraud.

Wire fraud is a crime in which a person concocts a scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises. This criminal act is committed using … Read more

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