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Don’t let a scam ruin your holiday

Fraudsters stole more than £7 million from holidaymakers in 2018.

Action Fraud’s figures show more than 5,000 tourists were conned into paying for fake flights, non-existent villas and other scams. Figures released by Action Fraud show the average amount lost due to holiday fraud in 2018 was £1,380.

Travel trade organisation Abta’s chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “The cost to victims is not just financial. This crime causes very real emotional distress. Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to target destinations and times of year when demand is high and availability limited, as they know people will be looking … Read more

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Marriott Must pay £99 Million Fine

The Information Commissioner’s Office says it is issuing Marriott International a £99 million fine, for a huge date breach in 2014.

The data breach led the personal and financial details of some 339 million guests being stolen by cyber-criminals. The breach happened in 2014, but Marriott only discovered it in 2018. Marriott said 339 million guests had their information exposed, this included their names, phone numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, passport numbers and arrival and departure information. Some guests had their credit card numbers and card expiration dates exposed. CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement: “We fell short … Read more

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British Airways Ordered To Pay Record Fine

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has informed British Airways they are facing a record fine of £183.39 million, this is the biggest fine ever issued by the ICO.

Between June and September 2018, the airline suffered a massive cyber-attack leading to the personal and financial information of over 500,000 customers being stolen. The sensitive information, which included people’s passport numbers, names and addresses and credit card details, was stolen from the airline’s website and mobile app.

The ICO launched an extensive investigation and found that a variety of information was compromised, and the airline was to blame as they had … Read more

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First Time Buyer Has Deposit Stolen

Home buyers are being warned that fraudsters are out to steal their money and to be on guard when purchasing a new property.

Action Fraud has issued the warning after a charity worker who was about to purchase his first home, had £67,000 stolen after hackers intercepted emails between him and his solicitor.

It is known as Conveyancing fraud and is committed when criminals hack into the email chains between sellers and buyers and their solicitors and estate agents.  The fraudster will wait for the right time, usually the day of the sale, and send a spoofed email informing the … Read more

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New type of courier fraud targeting older victims

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

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Action Fraud issues warning after bogus traffic wardens steal bank cards

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

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Warning: Don’t let a scam ruin your retirement!

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

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One of UK’s Biggest Scammers Jailed For 11 Years

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

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Family Holiday From Hell

One family’s dream holiday turned into a nightmare after they were forced to take a ride in the back of a police car.

Police had to step in and help one family who were left stranded when they turned up at the holiday apartment to find the gates locked. This was just the start of the problems the party of seven faced during their dream trip to Spain.

The family jetted off to Alcoceber in Spain and booked two apartments through Love Holidays. They arrived at their accommodation in the evening and not able to locate keys, or find anyone … Read more

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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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