The cost of fraud in the UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, according to BDO’s ‘FraudTrack’ report, with the number of reported cases rising by 18 percent to a three-year high.

Employees can commit fraud in a wide variety of ways, including dishonest sales practices, hiding important information from consumers or investors, and dishonest practices in financial markets. Individuals, other organisations or the taxpayer may end up defrauded and out of pocket as a result.

The question for organisations is how to defend against this ongoing tsunami of fraudulent activity.

Businesses should expect the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to undertake more ‘own initiative’ investigations into compliance with UK ‘cookie laws’ in the months and years ahead, an expert in data protection and privacy law has said.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/en-gb/out-law/news/uk-cookie-law-enforcement-not-dependent-on-complaints

A new report published by the UK’s data protection authority can help organisations around the world better understand the emerging cyber threats they face – and act accordingly.

The issues flagged by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – including the risk of cyber attacks on supply chains; the evolution of the ‘phishing’ threat; and the growth of ransomware – chime with the experience of Pinsent Masons’ cyber risk team in advising organisations around the world on how to prevent, manage, and respond to cyber incidents.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/analysis/supply-chain-cyber-risk-among-growing-global-threats

People are most likely to be scammed in the afternoon, a survey indicates. A survey of more than 3,000 people across the UK who have fallen victim to fraud in the past two years found 43% were scammed in the afternoon – making this the most likely time of day when people said they fell victim to fraud.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/exact-time-day-most-iikely-060329302.html

Jonathan Denton, formerly of US law firm Locke Lord, was convicted of two frauds alongside more than a dozen other individuals.

The multi-year investigation interviewed witnesses from across the UK, Europe, America and the Far East, and examined bank records linked to dozens of individuals and companies, North Yorkshire Police said.

https://www.legalcheek.com/2024/05/ex-city-lawyer-handed-15-year-jail-term-for-role-in-30-million-ponzi-scheme/

Claire Hills, a Director at bennettbrooks, outlines the requirements of the new economic crime legislation.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) was granted Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. There has been widespread press coverage on some of the other ECCTA provisions such as new Companies House enforcement powers (along with increased filing fees to pay for them), verification of directors’ identity and increased accounts disclosure. However, it also contains a new groundbreaking measure: ‘the Failure to Prevent Economic Crime” criminal offence which will render large companies liable for fraud committed by their employees where the fraud was committed with the intention of benefitting the organisation or those to whom it provides services. We consider the offence and implications for businesses.

An individual has been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for providing a forged document to Financial Conduct Authority investigators.

On May 7, Taheer Sardar pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court.

The defendant had been interviewed by the FCA as part of an investigation it was conducting into a boiler room fraud that had defrauded 120 investors of £1.3mn.

Insurance customers are being warned that lying to their provider in an attempt to make some easy money could leave them with big bills or even a criminal record, after a fraud prevention body has seen a jump in bogus claims.

Between 2017 and 2018 there has been a 27% increase in fraudulent insurance claims across the UK, including spikes in the motor and household insurance sectors, Cifas said.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/finance/news/jump-bogus-insurance-claims-seen-122022583.html

Welcome to the latest edition of Ebury’s Counter Fraud Update. In this edition, we’ll focus on two prevalent threats to businesses: Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams and Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud.

Understanding these threats and implementing preventive measures are crucial to safeguarding your business assets and reputation.

https://ebury.com/e-blog/blog/ebury_post/business-email-compromise-and-authorised-push-payment-app-fraud/

AI fraud and deepfakes are identified as top challenges for UK banks, according to a new report.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, AI-generated fraud and deepfakes are emerging as primary concerns, according to Mitek Systems’ latest report, the Identity Intelligence Index 2024.

https://www.digit.fyi/uk-banks-facing-ai-fraud-and-deepfake-challenges/