Investment Scams
Police and financers warn of online bank fraud
Bank customers lost a record £1.3 billion to online scams last year, according to lobby group UK Finance. In 2021, investment fraud accounted for nearly one third of losses, with the promise of high returns enticing potential victims. UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report notes that scammers are aware that pension freedoms have given over-55s access…
Read MoreFCA and FSCS: “Investors should do more research”
A survey by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that many investors avoid doing due diligence because they found the process “complicated” and “time consuming.” According to the results of the study, 42% of Britons aged 18 to 24, who have money in investments, claim their latest investment was…
Read MoreBeware the professional enabler
A lawyer, finance expert, or some other professional who acts as an enabler of an economic crime is referred to as a professional enabler. These are the people who will create, ignore, fail to identify, and purposely facilitate an economic crime or criminal system. In most cases, we only see the ‘face’ of the crime.…
Read MoreDirector disqualification for dodgy wine dealer
Earlier this month, former wine investor William Geoffrey Mason received a 10-year company director disqualification. An Insolvency Service investigation found that Mason, 54, “abused” hundreds of thousands of pounds investors paid his company. Between 2001 and 2019, Mason’s business, William Mason Fine Wines (WMFW), received more than £445,000 in payments from investors. However, investigators concluded…
Read MoreConsumers warned over pre-paid energy scams
Britain’s leading fraud prevention service, Cifas, has warned gas and electricity customers to avoid pre-paid energy scams disguised as discounted offers. The scams have already affected over 188,000 victims, including British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Scottish Power, and SSE customers. It’s no secret the cost of living is increasing at a startling rate. Many UK…
Read MoreWhen digital currency goes wrong Netflix documentary
Netflix’s newest true-crime offering is a cautionary tale about the world of cryptocurrency investments. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King follows the rise and fall of Gerald Cotten, founder of the QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange. The result is a gripping documentary that attempts to trace the $150million (around £115m) investors lost following Cotton’s…
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