The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is proud to be the first signatory of the new National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team’s ‘Fraud and Scams Victim Charter’. This is another milestone in the work of both CTSI and NTS to support and inform consumers with regards to the scams and frauds they may experience.

The Charter will support victims of frauds and scams; it explains the standard of service that victims of these crimes can expect and from organisations who sign up to the Charter. This includes commitment to not blame or shame victims but to show empathy, understanding and compassion, and reminds us of how we should treat all victims of crime, but with a focus on fraud and scams.

https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/articles/CTSI+is+proud+to+be+first+signatory+to+sign+up+to+new+National+Trading+Standards+Fraud+and+Scams+Victim+Charter+21062024120500

Every business in the world has one thing in common—the need to accept payments for their services or goods. However, it’s never as simple as it sounds, especially when you consider the role fraud plays. Global losses from online payment fraud are projected to soar past $362 billion in the next five years. In the UK alone, businesses took a hit of over £173.8 million in the first half of 2023 due to card-not-present fraud.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/why-fraud-prevention-strategies-are-backfiring-for-businesses/ar-BB1oEnvJ

The idea that the younger generations are much less likely to fall victim to fraud than their older counterparts could well be a massive misconception – with the opposite potentially being true – Revolut, the global fintech boasting over nine million UK customers and 40 million globally, has warned.

While Revolut revealed as much as 76 per cent of customers in the UK believe that fraud is easy to identify, a huge number continue to fall victim to cybercriminals every day.

https://thefintechtimes.com/revolut-social-media-is-a-key-enabler-of-fraud-as-gen-z-and-millennials-caught-out-most-often/

The general election appears to have delayed the likely implementation of the new failure to prevent fraud offences which were included in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (s 199 onwards). Regulations to bring the relevant sections into force can only be made after the secretary of state has published guidance on the procedures that relevant bodies can put in place to prevent persons associated with them from committing the fraud offences set out in the legislation (the guidance is required by s 204 of the Act).

https://www.taxjournal.com/articles/-failure-to-prevent-offences-delayed

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says it received nearly 9,000 reports of romance fraud last year totalling £94.7m, an increase of 8.4 per cent on the previous year. The City of London Police run body said that the average loss per person amounts to £10.7k.

Romance fraud is when people are defrauded into sending money to criminals who go to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them that they are in a genuine relationship. Often victims are groomed for more than a year before the fraud takes place; it is targeted financially, emotionally, and psychologically, with nearly half of victims meeting the fraudster via a dating site.

https://emergencyservicestimes.com/2024/06/18/victims-lost-nearly-100m-to-romance-fraud-scams-last-year/

If you're booking your next holiday, watch out for fake deals, clone websites and bogus cancellations, as criminals are using a variety of sophisticated methods to trick holidaymakers out of their money.

Figures from the national fraud reporting centre Action Fraud show that over £12 million was lost to holiday booking scams last year, with July and August seeing the most scams reported.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/06/holiday-booking-scams-warning/

Earlier this month, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published its new strategy for the next five years. This follows on from Nick Ephgrave's promise of a bold new approach in his inaugural public address as director of the SFO. However, scratch the surface and much of the content and rhetoric in these recent pronouncements has a very familiar look to it.

https://www.mondaq.com/uk/white-collar-crime-anti-corruption--fraud/1479946/sfos-five-year-strategy-an-innovative-new-plan-or-a-case-of-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-all-over-again

Ted Datta, senior director, Moody’s head of financial crime compliance industry practice, Europe, Africa, and Americas argues that tackling fraud requires a data-driven approach from government.

Fraud currently accounts for around 38 percent of total crime in England and Wales, and it cost the UK £2.46 billion in FY 21/22. Instances of Fraud have continued to grow in recent years, representing a huge proportion of criminal activity that is costing the UK economy dearly.

https://www.thinkdigitalpartners.com/news/2024/05/13/how-can-the-uk-government-tackle-the-increasing-threat-of-fraud/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

Richard Furlong considers the liability of company directors for criminal wrongdoing by their employees.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 expanded corporate liability by widening the identification doctrine from the old “directing mind and will”test to a new “senior manager”test. My colleague Vanessa Reid wrote a very helpful article on these changes in December, available here.

https://www.mountfordchambers.com/the-buck-where-does-it-stop/

The Independent Review into disclosure and fraud offences promised as part of the government’s May 2023 Fraud Strategy has now published its preliminary findings in the disclosure aspect of the investigation.

The independent review is due to examine the disclosure regime in the context of the ‘digital age’ and challenges in the investigation and prosecution of modern fraud.

https://www.mountfordchambers.com/are-we-there-yet-the-fraud-strategy-and-the-independent-review-of-disclosure-and-fraud-offences/