Scam victim who lost £239,000 of life savings reimbursed

Scam victim who lost £239,000 of life savings reimbursed by her bank after we intervened By Rachel Rickard Straus, Financial Mail On Sunday Published: 21:52 GMT, 13 March 2021 | Updated: 21:52 GMT, 13 March 2021 A scam victim who lost £239,000 of life savings has been reimbursed by her bank after The Mail on … Read more

The cowboy locksmiths: Families targeted by new breed of rogue trader

Homeowners are being scammed out of tens of thousands of pounds by a wave of rogue locksmiths who ‘bully’ their victims into submission. Families are being warned against a new crop of cowboy tradesmen who promise quick-fix jobs before threatening to lock people out of their homes if they don’t pay extortionate bills. Online giant … Read more

Scammers recruit young adults left jobless by pandemic as money mules

Scammers recruit young adults left jobless by the pandemic as ‘money mules’ By Miles Dilworth For The Daily Mail Published: 22:00 GMT, 9 March 2021 | Updated: 22:00 GMT, 9 March 2021 Young adults left jobless and penniless by the pandemic are helping launder profits from crimes like drug dealing Young adults left jobless and … Read more

I was cold called while dealing with my dead mother’s estate

Financial planner Mel Kenny was cold called while dealing with his dead mother’s estate Bereaved Britons have been urged to be on their guard against scammers after a financial planner and one of his clients were cold called while dealing with the affairs of deceased relatives. Mel Kenny, 48, from North London, who works at … Read more

Our intervention gets reader’s £30,300 back from Santander

Battle: Jean Timmins made her own checks before her bank let the sums be paid Why should it often take the intervention of the press to get financial justice for consumers? It’s a question I regularly ask myself – although I can’t deny I thoroughly enjoy the moment whenever a mighty financial services company caves … Read more

How a highly-sophisticated scam cost Catriona £241,000

When Catriona Oliphant got a phone call warning her there had been fraudulent activity on her and her elderly mother’s bank accounts, the timing could not have been worse. Catriona’s mother had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just months to live.  Catriona, 60, says: ‘At the very moment the phone rang, I … Read more

Romance fraud: Five ways to ensure scammers don’t break the bank, as well as your heart

February is known as the month of romance – but lockdown rules have resulted in further isolation for singletons, leaving thousands with lonely hearts seeking love remotely. But with this desperation comes another threat: romance fraud. It has become a very lucrative industry for fraudsters, and last year victims of this type of scam were … Read more

Banks could be forced to publish how often they refund fraud victims

Banks could be forced to publish figures showing how often they pay back blameless fraud victims as new data reveals those who lose money to bank transfer scams continue to face a lottery. Publishing information about victims’ losses and how often they were reimbursed by their bank ‘would give banks a strong incentive to do … Read more

Crooks con £55,000 a day out of lonely hearts in lockdown

Crooks con £55,000 a day out of lonely hearts during an online dating boom in lockdown By Fiona Parker For The Daily Mail Published: 22:01 GMT, 9 February 2021 | Updated: 22:01 GMT, 9 February 2021 Romance fraudsters are stealing more than £50,000 a day during an online dating boom in lockdown. There was a … Read more

Royal Mail scams: Beware the latest of 17 fake messages

Beware the latest Royal Mail con doing the rounds: Fake text tells consumers they owe £2.99 as it warns of 17 separate scam messages Fake emails and texts impersonating parcel companies have been widespread One Twitter user reported the latest example which seeks to harvest details  The request for a £2.99 fee comes at a … Read more