Latest news with #BenDonaldson
Zawya
28-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Britain sees 12% spike in fraud cases as banks battle $1.6bln epidemic
LONDON: Britain's financial sector saw a record 3.31 million fraud cases in 2024, up 12% on the year before, according to data from industry body UK Finance released on Wednesday, as criminals responded to efforts to combat complex scams by ramping up high-volume, low-value attacks. That increase led to a total of 1.17 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) being stolen in 2024, unchanged from the year before, as firms showed limited progress in combating a problem that accounts for 41% of all reported crime in Britain and which banks and regulators have said threatens financial stability. Fraud "causes severe harm to individuals, society and our economy, as the stolen money goes to serious organised crime groups, both here and abroad," said Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance. Britain has in recent years emerged as the global epicentre for scams and fraud, Reuters reported in 2021, as criminals take advantage of super-fast payment channels, relatively light policing of such crimes and the prevalence of the world's most widely used language, English. Finance industry players have since then increased efforts to fight so-called authorised payment fraud, where people are tricked into sending money to criminals via social engineering techniques. Awareness campaigns and technology that can flag fraud have helped reduce a form of scam that spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing measures drove more people online and into the clutches of scammers who often spoke with victims for days or weeks as they drained their funds. Criminals in 2024 instead ramped up so-called remote purchase fraud attempts, often compromising one-time passwords to enable fraudulent purchases on e-commerce sites, the UK Finance data showed. Yet the UK Finance data on reported fraud is just the tip of the iceberg, with fraud going chronically unreported by its victims, said Jim Winters, head of financial crime at Britain's second-biggest mortgage lender Nationwide. One in seven consumers in Britain is exposed to potentially fraudulent emails per day, but 43% of them would not report fraud if they were the victim or witnessed it, research from Nationwide showed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Britain sees 12% spike in fraud cases as banks battle $1.6 billion epidemic
By Lawrence White LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's financial sector saw a record 3.31 million fraud cases in 2024, up 12% on the year before, according to data from industry body UK Finance released on Wednesday, as criminals responded to efforts to combat complex scams by ramping up high-volume, low-value attacks. That increase led to a total of 1.17 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) being stolen in 2024, unchanged from the year before, as firms showed limited progress in combating a problem that accounts for 41% of all reported crime in Britain and which banks and regulators have said threatens financial stability. Fraud "causes severe harm to individuals, society and our economy, as the stolen money goes to serious organised crime groups, both here and abroad," said Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance. Britain has in recent years emerged as the global epicentre for scams and fraud, Reuters reported in 2021, as criminals take advantage of super-fast payment channels, relatively light policing of such crimes and the prevalence of the world's most widely used language, English. Finance industry players have since then increased efforts to fight so-called authorised payment fraud, where people are tricked into sending money to criminals via social engineering techniques. Awareness campaigns and technology that can flag fraud have helped reduce a form of scam that spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing measures drove more people online and into the clutches of scammers who often spoke with victims for days or weeks as they drained their funds. Criminals in 2024 instead ramped up so-called remote purchase fraud attempts, often compromising one-time passwords to enable fraudulent purchases on e-commerce sites, the UK Finance data showed. Yet the UK Finance data on reported fraud is just the tip of the iceberg, with fraud going chronically unreported by its victims, said Jim Winters, head of financial crime at Britain's second-biggest mortgage lender Nationwide. One in seven consumers in Britain is exposed to potentially fraudulent emails per day, but 43% of them would not report fraud if they were the victim or witnessed it, research from Nationwide showed. ($1 = 0.7389 pounds) (Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by David Holmes) Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Britain sees 12% spike in fraud cases as banks battle $1.6 billion epidemic
LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's financial sector saw a record 3.31 million fraud cases in 2024, up 12% on the year before, according to data from industry body UK Finance released on Wednesday, as criminals responded to efforts to combat complex scams by ramping up high-volume, low-value attacks. That increase led to a total of 1.17 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) being stolen in 2024, unchanged from the year before, as firms showed limited progress in combating a problem that accounts for 41% of all reported crime in Britain, opens new tab and which banks and regulators have said threatens financial stability. Fraud "causes severe harm to individuals, society and our economy, as the stolen money goes to serious organised crime groups, both here and abroad," said Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance. Britain has in recent years emerged as the global epicentre for scams and fraud, Reuters reported in 2021, as criminals take advantage of super-fast payment channels, relatively light policing of such crimes and the prevalence of the world's most widely used language, English. Finance industry players have since then increased efforts to fight so-called authorised payment fraud, where people are tricked into sending money to criminals via social engineering techniques. Awareness campaigns and technology that can flag fraud have helped reduce a form of scam that spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing measures drove more people online and into the clutches of scammers who often spoke with victims for days or weeks as they drained their funds. Criminals in 2024 instead ramped up so-called remote purchase fraud attempts, often compromising one-time passwords to enable fraudulent purchases on e-commerce sites, the UK Finance data showed. Yet the UK Finance data on reported fraud is just the tip of the iceberg, with fraud going chronically unreported by its victims, said Jim Winters, head of financial crime at Britain's second-biggest mortgage lender Nationwide. One in seven consumers in Britain is exposed to potentially fraudulent emails per day, but 43% of them would not report fraud if they were the victim or witnessed it, research from Nationwide showed. ($1 = 0.7389 pounds)
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Crooks rake in staggering £1.17BILLION from UK Banks in scam surge
CROOKS raked in £1.17billion from banks through payment fraud last year, figures show. Criminals were responsible for 3.13million thefts, up 14 per cent on 2023, said UK Finance. Greater use of stolen card details to buy items online, by phone or mail order pushed up the number of unauthorised fraud payments. The so-called remote purchase frauds — victims are legally protected against some losses — rocketed by 22 per cent to nearly 2.6million. Authorised push payment cases, where people are tricked into transferring money, fell by a fifth. However, UK Finance said there was a 'notable increase' in international payments being made as part of APP fraud. It said overseas transactions were not covered by new mandatory reimbursement rules so victims were unlikely to get back their money. Ben Donaldson, boss of UK Finance, said: 'Fraud continues to blight this country. It severely harms individuals, society and our economy as the money goes to serious organised crime groups.' Rocio Concha of consumer group Which? said: 'Fraudsters continue to exploit gaps in the system. 'The Government must ensure that social media firms, search engines and telecoms firms put the right systems in place to properly protect their customers.' She called the APP fraud fall 'encouraging' but added: 'The amount of money lost to this crime remains eye-watering, with devastating consequences for victims.' Simon Read 3 Premier's chair inn PREMIER INN owner Whitbread has turned to Severn Trent's Christine Hodgson as its new chair. The hotel and restaurant giant has struggled after recent closures and lower demand for rooms. Ms Hodgson, who replaces Adam Crozier, had been chair at Severn Trent since 2020. The water firm was recently blasted for a decision to hike consumer bills by an average 47 per cent over the next five years. Adidas in data attack SPORTSWEAR giant Adidas has become the latest big company to be attacked by cyber fraudsters. It said customers' personal information has been stolen — but that passwords, credit card information and payments-related data had not been affected. 3 The company, promoted by stars including David Beckham and Lionel Messi, said hackers stole mainly the contact information of people who have dealt with its customer service desk. Adidas said it was in the process of contacting those affected as well as data protection and law enforcement authorities. The company apologised for 'any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident'. The attack comes after similar data breaches took place at Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods in recent weeks. M&S said that the cyber attack — which hit the retailer around Easter time — could cost the business an estimated £300million. Sell of a drop for houses HOME buyers are cashing in — with sellers settling for an average £16,000 below their asking price. Buyers also have more choice as the number of homes on the market is up 13 per cent on last year, according to the property website Zoopla. It said the North West is the hottest housing market for price rises in England. Blackburn has seen a typical 5.8 per cent hike, while Wigan has seen a 4.4 per cent rise and Birkenhead a 4.1 per cent annual increase. Zoopla's Richard Donnell said: 'We expect sales to keep rising over the second half of the year, with home values on track to be two per cent higher by the end of the year.' Sarah Coles, of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said the Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates to 4.25 per cent had led to more first-time buyers entering the market. Volvo job stall VOLVO CARS plans to axe around 3,000 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures. The move will mainly hit office jobs in Sweden and represents around 15 per cent of its white-collar workforce. It comes after the Chinese-owned auto maker last month announced a £1.4billion 'action plan' shake-up. Boss Håkan Samuelsson blamed the layoffs on the 'challenging period' faced by the industry. He said the 'difficult decisions' were steps to build a 'stronger and even more resilient' Volvo Cars. Tesla trouble EUROPE sales at troubled Tesla dipped by half in April. The EV firm sold 7,261 cars in the month, down 49 per cent year on year, said the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. It faces Chinese rivalry and a backlash over boss Elon Musk's views. Talc a cheque? SHARES in chemicals group Elementis jumped 12 per cent after it flogged a talc business to Italian rival IMI Fabi for £41million. The FTSE 250 firm plans to hand most of the proceeds to investors in the form of a share buyback. Analysts at Jefferies described the sale — part of Elementis's plans to focus on chemicals — as 'positive and long awaited'. In the three months to March, Elementis said it delivered higher margins and profits despite a 'challenging demand environment'.
The Advertiser
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Waratahs beware: Force want to end your finals hopes
Wooden spoon talk has been off the agenda at the Western Force as they aim to end the NSW Waratahs' Super Rugby Pacific finals hopes once and for all. The Force's 38-7 loss to the Fijian Drua last week consigned the Perth-based club to yet another year without finals action, and in danger of finishing last. It means they are still yet to make the finals in a full Super Rugby competition since their inception 20 years ago. The Force (22 points) sit ninth on the ladder, equal with the Waratahs (22) and just ahead of the Drua (20 points) and Highlanders (19 points) in what has become a four-way battle to avoid the wooden spoon. But unlike the Force, who only have one match remaining, the Waratahs have two games to go - giving them a shot at an unlikely finals berth. NSW need to beat both the Force and the Blues, as well as relying on other results to fall their way, in order to sneak into the top six. The Force are keen to play party poopers when they lock horns with the Waratahs at HBF Park on Saturday night. "Yeah definitely," Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson replied when asked if he was keen to end the Waratahs' finals hopes. "It's been a reasonably tough year for us, so we really want to come out and, first and foremost, win and play a great game in front of our fans (the) Sea of Blue, and just have a smile on our face. "And in turn, hopefully see a few disappointed boys in the Tahs' changing room as well." The Waratahs won four of their first five matches in their best start to a season since 2009. But the wheels have fallen off dramatically since then, with four losses on the trot consigning them to what appears set to be another wasted season. The Force also made a promising start, with an early win over the Brumbies in Canberra helping fuel belief they could finally break their finals duck. But four losses and a draw from their past five games means all they can do now is try to avoid finishing last. "Honestly we haven't spoken about it once," Donaldson said of the wooden spoon. "We know where we sit on the ladder, but we haven't spoken about the ladder this week. "It's just about finishing on a high, putting in a performance that we can be proud of, and what the Sea of Blue can be proud of as well." Star flanker Carlo Tizzano returns from a pectoral injury this week, and will be aiming to add to his competition-high 12 tries. "To be honest, they're all team tries, most of them are strictly one metre out," Tizzano said with a laugh. "So yeah, smarter, not harder - shout out to the forwards." Wooden spoon talk has been off the agenda at the Western Force as they aim to end the NSW Waratahs' Super Rugby Pacific finals hopes once and for all. The Force's 38-7 loss to the Fijian Drua last week consigned the Perth-based club to yet another year without finals action, and in danger of finishing last. It means they are still yet to make the finals in a full Super Rugby competition since their inception 20 years ago. The Force (22 points) sit ninth on the ladder, equal with the Waratahs (22) and just ahead of the Drua (20 points) and Highlanders (19 points) in what has become a four-way battle to avoid the wooden spoon. But unlike the Force, who only have one match remaining, the Waratahs have two games to go - giving them a shot at an unlikely finals berth. NSW need to beat both the Force and the Blues, as well as relying on other results to fall their way, in order to sneak into the top six. The Force are keen to play party poopers when they lock horns with the Waratahs at HBF Park on Saturday night. "Yeah definitely," Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson replied when asked if he was keen to end the Waratahs' finals hopes. "It's been a reasonably tough year for us, so we really want to come out and, first and foremost, win and play a great game in front of our fans (the) Sea of Blue, and just have a smile on our face. "And in turn, hopefully see a few disappointed boys in the Tahs' changing room as well." The Waratahs won four of their first five matches in their best start to a season since 2009. But the wheels have fallen off dramatically since then, with four losses on the trot consigning them to what appears set to be another wasted season. The Force also made a promising start, with an early win over the Brumbies in Canberra helping fuel belief they could finally break their finals duck. But four losses and a draw from their past five games means all they can do now is try to avoid finishing last. "Honestly we haven't spoken about it once," Donaldson said of the wooden spoon. "We know where we sit on the ladder, but we haven't spoken about the ladder this week. "It's just about finishing on a high, putting in a performance that we can be proud of, and what the Sea of Blue can be proud of as well." Star flanker Carlo Tizzano returns from a pectoral injury this week, and will be aiming to add to his competition-high 12 tries. "To be honest, they're all team tries, most of them are strictly one metre out," Tizzano said with a laugh. "So yeah, smarter, not harder - shout out to the forwards." Wooden spoon talk has been off the agenda at the Western Force as they aim to end the NSW Waratahs' Super Rugby Pacific finals hopes once and for all. The Force's 38-7 loss to the Fijian Drua last week consigned the Perth-based club to yet another year without finals action, and in danger of finishing last. It means they are still yet to make the finals in a full Super Rugby competition since their inception 20 years ago. The Force (22 points) sit ninth on the ladder, equal with the Waratahs (22) and just ahead of the Drua (20 points) and Highlanders (19 points) in what has become a four-way battle to avoid the wooden spoon. But unlike the Force, who only have one match remaining, the Waratahs have two games to go - giving them a shot at an unlikely finals berth. NSW need to beat both the Force and the Blues, as well as relying on other results to fall their way, in order to sneak into the top six. The Force are keen to play party poopers when they lock horns with the Waratahs at HBF Park on Saturday night. "Yeah definitely," Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson replied when asked if he was keen to end the Waratahs' finals hopes. "It's been a reasonably tough year for us, so we really want to come out and, first and foremost, win and play a great game in front of our fans (the) Sea of Blue, and just have a smile on our face. "And in turn, hopefully see a few disappointed boys in the Tahs' changing room as well." The Waratahs won four of their first five matches in their best start to a season since 2009. But the wheels have fallen off dramatically since then, with four losses on the trot consigning them to what appears set to be another wasted season. The Force also made a promising start, with an early win over the Brumbies in Canberra helping fuel belief they could finally break their finals duck. But four losses and a draw from their past five games means all they can do now is try to avoid finishing last. "Honestly we haven't spoken about it once," Donaldson said of the wooden spoon. "We know where we sit on the ladder, but we haven't spoken about the ladder this week. "It's just about finishing on a high, putting in a performance that we can be proud of, and what the Sea of Blue can be proud of as well." Star flanker Carlo Tizzano returns from a pectoral injury this week, and will be aiming to add to his competition-high 12 tries. "To be honest, they're all team tries, most of them are strictly one metre out," Tizzano said with a laugh. "So yeah, smarter, not harder - shout out to the forwards."
