Lloyds Banking Group is defending two High Court claims, one worth up to £1.1 billion and another for £280 million, brought by insolvency practitioners over an alleged £1.2 billion lending fraud at Arena Television, with a trial scheduled for October 2028.

The bank denies allegations that it had enough information to know it should not have processed payments related to the alleged fraud.

Arena, which was based in Surrey and worked on events including the Glastonbury festival for the BBC, collapsed in November 2021 amid allegations that it had been borrowing against television equipment that did not exist or was already pledged to other lenders.

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/legal/lloyds-arena-television-high-court-claims/

Food fraud is a serious crime. It is typically an organised, entrepreneurial crime that generates significant profits. It compromises the integrity of food systems causing economic harm, illness and death. Understanding the total economic cost of food fraud and its constituent cost drivers supports the development of policies that seek to strengthen the resilience and integrity of the food industry. However, measuring the cost of crime is a very challenging problem.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791426000254

Fraudulent tenancy applications cost the private rental sector £4.1bn in financial losses every year, analysis from Goodlord has suggested.

The analysis, which examined data from more than one million tenant references over the past two years, found 41 tenancy applications per 1,000 were flagged for suspected fraud between July 2025 and June 2026.

While this is down slightly from the peak of 46.6 per 1,000 references recorded in late 2024, suspected fraud remains above historic levels.

Plastic card fraud stands as the top identity theft tactic targeting Brits, new research shows, with the scam now making up more than a third of all identity theft cases across the UK.

The study, conducted by cyber security experts at Inflection Point, analysed Cifas data to identify fraud patterns across different business sectors, including banking, insurance and telecommunications, between 2017 and 2025.

https://ifamagazine.com/card-fraud-tops-uk-identity-theft-ranking-as-expert-warns-britons-to-check-their-statements/

A group who fraudulently claimed to be able to provide PPE during the pandemic but instead spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on house renovations and luxury cars have been convicted after a National Crime Agency investigation.

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/fraudsters-bought-luxury-car-and-home-improvements-from-ppe-scam

Big Tech will be held accountable for tackling scam ads on their platforms, under proposed new fraud-fighting rules announced today by Ofcom

• Ofcom calls for crackdown on fraudulent adverts online and sets out nearly 40 new safety measures for major sites and apps to adopt
• Rules include banning accounts that post scam ads and making them easier to report - firms “should not drag their heels” and improvements can start now
• Anti-fraud drive part of wider new requirements for the biggest online platforms

A dentist has been found guilty of defrauding the NHS out of more than £92,500 by manipulating more than 1,000 claims for dental work.

Fariba Shameli, 54, previously owned and operated Findon Dental Care in Worthing and was found guilty in a trial which ended yesterday (6 July) at Hove Crown Court, of submitting fraudulent claims to the NHS between March 2013 and June 2018.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/national-news/news/former-dentist-who-defrauded-nhs-out-more-ps92500-found-guilty

Fraud losses from people being tricked into transferring money to scammers surged by nearly a fifth last year, as criminals turn to AI to manipulate victims.

More than half a billion was stolen in 2025 after artificial intelligence created a “lower barrier for entry” for criminals, according to UK Finance.

Criminals managed to trick victims as AI has made it easier for communications to appear more sophisticated, send messages at scale and mimic celebrities or people’s friends and family members to get them to hand over their cash.

https://www.cityam.com/fraud-losses-surge-as-scammers-use-ai-to-manipulate-victims/

The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised criminal charges against two people following allegations of an investment scam where a woman transferred £720,000 believing she would receive a substantial return.

Farah Ullah, 43, has been charged with fraud and two counts of transferring criminal property while Syed Hussain, 54, a former West Midlands Police superintendent who has since been dismissed, has been charged with fraud and transferring criminal property.

The pair are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 1 July 2026.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/two-people-including-former-police-superintendent-charged-connection-ps720000-investment

A company director has been jailed for eight years and one month for being responsible and playing a key role in a nearly £9m investment fraud, which saw the deceptive gaining of money from members of the public.

https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/articles/Company+director+jailed+for+key+role+in+a+nearly+9+million+investment+fraud+01062026131000