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Arrests Made Over Patisserie Valerie Fraud

Five people have been arrested and questioned by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to alleged fraud at Patisserie Valerie. 

The arrests were made last week in a joint operation and follow the arrest and subsequent bailing of the bakery’s former finance director, Chris Marsh, last October. In a statement the Serious Fraud Office said: “On Tuesday 18 June, as part of a joint operation with Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and the Metropolitan Police Services, five individuals were arrested and interviewed in connection with the Serious Fraud Office investigation into individuals associated with Patisserie Holdings PLC.”

“Significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities”, … Read more

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Woman Scammed out of £300,000 in romance fraud

A woman from Northern Ireland was targeted by a fraudster through Facebook, who conned her into a three year relationship.

 The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was lured into the relationship which started three years ago, but just three months in he started to ask for money from her.

It started with the romance fraudster asking her for money so he could send his children to England for a better education, but developed into him asking for money to invest in Ghana and Dubai. In total, she sent the man more than £300,000 which was deposited into different accounts … Read more

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Marriott Vacation Club Extend Property Portfolio

Interval International Vacation Services has announced it is adding Marriott Vacation Club Pulse in San Francisco to it’s growing exchange network. It is the newest addition to the groups portfolio and adds a new resort for those seeking urban breaks.

Marcos Agostini, Interval International Executive Vice President said: “It’s no surprise that Marriott Vacation Club has expanded into one of the most highly sought-after destinations in the world. This growth strategy clearly aligns with Interval’s research that shows members are eager to experience timeshare vacations in major metropolitan areas.”

Ed Kinney, Global Vice President said: “Marriott Vacation Club Pulse … Read more

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Passenger Thrown Off Flight For Nut Allergy

A British holidaymaker claims he was thrown off a flight when he told cabin crew he suffered from a nut allergy.

Josh Silver from Essex was returning from a trip to Turkey with his girlfriend. He told the BBC how he was escorted off his flight back to Gatwick by Turkish police, after cabin crew staff told him it was against its policy to fly someone like him.

Mr Silver, who said he flew regularly for work, has a nut allergy which is not airborne. It only affects him if he consumes nuts. He said before leaving Gatwick he had … Read more

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Woman used by criminals in bank fraud case

A mother-of-two who acted as a mule for an organised crime gang has been spared jail after she admitted multiple frauds.

The 35 year old woman from Belfast, was described in court as a vulnerable woman with a heart condition picked on by fraudsters. Joanne Rice pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud by false representation over a six day period in 2016.

The M&S bank accounts that were owned by a separate customer had £85,500 transferred from it into what was described as a mule account, one of which belonged to Joanne Rice. In fact, over a six … Read more

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Mother and daughter warn others about ticket fraud.

A mother and daughter have shared their experiences of falling victim to ticket scammers in the hope that others think twice before buying tickets from unauthorised platforms. 

Sophie, 17, and Juliette, 49, gave their story as part of a new awareness campaign launched with Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) that urges people to avoid fraud by taking more care when buying tickets for live events. Fraudsters will pose as a website or agent for a music concert or festival, a sporting contest, or a live comedian or performer, meaning victims will purchase tickets that either don’t arrive or … Read more

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Customer Services Officer Fined For Accessing Personal Data

Former customer services officer fined after unlawfully accessing personal data.

A former customer services officer for Stockport Homes Limited has been found guilty at Stockport Magistrates court and ordered to pay a £300 fine, for unlawfully accessing personal data.

The court heard how Wendy Masterson spent time looking at anti-social behaviour cases without a legitimate reason to do so. In fact, she accessed Stockport Homes Limited case management system a total of 67 times between January and December 2017 when she was not authorised to do so. Her actions only came to light after concerns raised about her performance at … Read more

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Scam Timeshare exit companies cons $2.2 million

The Better Business Bureau is warning residents of Missouri to be careful when looking to exit their timeshare contracts.

Desperate timeshare owners, looking to get out of their lengthy expensive contracts are falling victim to rogue timeshare exit companies, throughout Missouri the Better Business Bureau is claiming.

One family who discovered this for themselves, took their story to a local news channel to warn others facing the same problem. Thirty years ago, a local family and their three children purchased a timeshare in Sedona. The fees started off just $38 a year but eventually increased to a whopping $3,700 annually.… Read more

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Scammers Targeting Victims On National Fish and Chip Day

Action Fraud have issued a warning for people to lookout for Phishing messages on National Fish and Chip Day.

Between April 2018 and March 2019, Action Fraud received over a quarter of a million reports of Phishing. Over two thirds of these reports were about emails claiming to be from a well-known brand. There were almost 70,000 that related to phishing phone calls, otherwise known as vishing, and close to 18,000 relating to phishing text messages, known as smishing.

Commander Karen Baxter, National Police Coordinator for Economic Crime at the City of London Police, said:“Phishing messages are … Read more

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Another Warning Over Booking Pilgrimage

Action Fraud is warning people to be careful when booking their pilgrimages.

Action Fraud, the reporting service, is warning anyone looking to book an upcoming pilgrimage to the Middle East, to exercise extreme caution as fraudsters are specifically targeting Hajj trips.

Up to 25,000 British Muslims will be booking trips to Mecca over the coming months to perform Hajj in the autumn.

The total reported loss to victims was £185,967 betw,,een July and December 2018. The public are urged to check that their travel company is a member of a recognised association such as ABTA

Last year, in the period … Read more

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