Five people, including convicted fraudster Neale Rothera, were sentenced for their involvement in a fraud and money laundering scheme which cost banks over £500,000 earlier this week. But with the money unrecoverable, how can this type of situation be avoided in the future?

https://thefintechtimes.com/preventing-future-fraudsters-after-five-convicted-for-500000-shell-company-money-laundering/

The banking industry’s answer to 999 now covers nearly all UK current accounts as Monzo joins the anti-fraud service, with the digital lender recently facing criticism for its performance in tackling scams.

Monzo, which now boasts more than 9m British customers, has become part of the 159 hotline created by Stop Scams UK, an industry body backed by the Financial Conduct Authority and Ofcom.

Ringing the 159 number puts callers directly through to staff at their banking provider, who can give advice to help work out whether they are being targeted by scammers.

https://www.cityam.com/bank-fraud-helpline-hits-99-per-cent-coverage-as-monzo-bolsters-efforts/

“It’s an industry where consumers’ voices aren’t strong, even though it’s consumers who are badly hurt by rogue sites,” Emily Taylor, founder of DNS Research Federation (DNSRF) said.

Which?, the consumer watchdog, is warning consumers to be wary of fraudulent banking websites after finding a myriad of scam sites.

Its research found more then 2,000 websites imitating UK banks were reported just in 2023 alone.

https://www.digit.fyi/watch-out-for-fraudulent-bank-websites-says-which/

A nationwide fraud crackdown led by City of London Police saw 438 people arrested and £19m seized.

The month-long Operation Henhouse was hailed by officers as resulting in a “record” number of arrests, with a 52 per cent increase on the previous year.

Officers at the City of London, which leads on economic crime, made 39 arrests during the crackdown, with cases involving those tackling investment fraud.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/major-city-london-police-fraud-171724602.html/

UK Police crack down on fraud, arrest hundreds of suspects and seize millions in assets as part of Operation Henhouse.

In a concerted effort to combat the growing amount of fraud across the UK – the vast majority of which takes place online – law enforcement agencies, including Police Scotland, have made significant strides in a UK-wide operation called Operation Henhouse, resulting in the arrest of over 400 suspects and the seizure of £19 million in cash and assets.

https://www.digit.fyi/police-anti-fraud-operation-sees-19m-of-assets-seized/

The first measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act) came into force on earlier this month.

Changes introduced include:

• greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence
• stronger checks on company names
• new rules for registered office addresses (all companies must have an appropriate address at all times – they will not be able to use a PO Box as their registered office address)
• a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address
• a requirement for subscribers to confirm they’re forming a company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate, and for a company to confirm its intended future activities will be lawful on its confirmation statement
• greater powers to tackle and remove factually inaccurate information
• the ability to share data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies

https://www.wrexham.com/news/companies-house-begins-phased-roll-out-of-new-powers-to-tackle-fraud-248030.html

Plans to use AI to check millions of bank accounts have been warned are a "step too far". The proposals are aimed at tracking down fraudsters and benefit claimants who have been paid too much

However campaigners have raised serious concerns over the plans which will seek people to have either claimed too much or who have been mistakenly overpaid. More than 40 organisations including Disability Rights UK and Age UK say the Government should scrap the plans.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/dwp-plans-to-use-ai-to-check-millions-of-bank-accounts-in-fraud-hunt/ar-BB1krFKS

The Financial Conduct Authority has charged Bruce Rowan, David Simmons, Robert Sweeney and Justin Russell with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

The four individuals allegedly ran an unauthorised investment scheme which defrauded investors out of £3.9mn.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2024/03/22/fca-charges-4-individuals-over-alleged-3-9mn-investment-fraud/

There have been recent press reports, based on data received by Bureau of Investigative Journalism, that the number of civil enquiries undertaken by the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) into offshore, corporate and wealthy has halved in five years.

This may be a concern, but it is important to understand FIS’s role in HMRC’s compliance’s activities. Originally a creation of the former Inland Revenue, FIS is an elite specialist unit tasked with undertaking civil and criminal enquiries. The civil enquiries were conducted under Code of Practice 9 (COP 9) where serious fraud was suspected and Code of Practice 8 where COP 9 was not considered appropriate.

More than 22,500 people had their social media or email accounts compromised last year, new data reveals.

According to figures from Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, a staggering 22,530 individuals reported hacking incidents in 2023.

https://www.deeside.com/1-3m-lost-to-email-and-social-media-scams-action-fraud-warns/