Latest news with #CSEW
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Martin Lewis reveals mobile phone banking trick to beat scammers
Martin Lewis has revealed a phone trick that bank customers should use to avoid being scammed. The Money Saving Expert has told consumers that they should dial 1-5-9 if they want to phone their bank, in an effort to prevent people from accidentally speaking to scammers. The scheme, which was launched by Stop Scams UK, provides a safe route to get in touch with your bank if you believe you've been contacted by imposters. When calling 159, customers will be asked to provide the name of the bank they want to be connected to, either by saying it out loud or using a keypad. They will then be connected to the bank's customer service department. "This is done as an anti-scam and anti-fraud initiative, so that you can always get through to a legitimate number without having to look it up," Mr Lewis said. "Just remember '159'. It's done so you can call them both generally but most especially if you get a call from your bank [and] you're not sure it's really them." Stop Scam UK has said it has received one million calls since it launched in 2021. The advice comes as fraud cases in England and Wales surged by more than 1 million last year, with some victims losing tens of thousands of pounds to scammers. In 2024, there was a 33 per cent rise in fraud incidents compared to the previous year, rising from an estimated 3 million cases to 4.1 million, according to new data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). According to Mr Lewis's website, if you think you've been scammed you should end all further communication with the scammer immediately, then call 159 if you've provided your card or bank details. You can then let your bank know about any money you've lost and ask it to cancel any payments that haven't yet been made. You should then report the scam via the Action Fraud website and use Section 75 if you've been scammed when paying for something costing more than £100 on a credit card. For more help and support, you can contact Citizens Advice.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘It takes over your life': Fraud cases up 33 per cent as AI, crypto and social media increase risk for millions of victims
Fraud cases in England and Wales surged by more than 1 million last year, new figures reveal, with some victims losing tens of thousands of pounds to scammers. Over 2024, there was a 33 per cent rise in fraud incidents compared to the previous year, rising from an estimated 3 million cases to 4.1 million, according to new data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Fraud can take many different and increasingly sophisticated forms in the digital age - with one man losing £75,000 through a complex scam involving AI, cryptocurrency and two famous figures. 'It just takes over your life. It destroys everything,' Des Healey, a scam victim who is still in debt, told the Independent. Last year had highest number of fraud incidents on record since the data was first collected in 2017, meaning 7 per cent of adults were targeted by a scam. 'This huge rise underlines the simple fact that not enough is being done to prevent fraud or bring criminals to justice,' said Wayne Stevens, national fraud lead at charity Victim Support. 'Being a victim of fraud can unravel your entire life. We have supported people who have lost life changing amounts of money – forcing them to sell treasured possessions, or in extreme cases, into bankruptcy or homelessness.' Fraud is defined as 'a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain of property or money, or causing loss or risk of loss to another'. More than £649 million was lost to investment fraud alone last year, ActionFraud figures show. As a little-understood investment, cryptocurrencies are touted in two thirds of all cases. Des Healey, a 60-year-old from Brighton, was one such victim. In August 2023, Mr Healey saw a video on Facebook which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk and money guru Martin Lewis praising a new bitcoin investment scheme. He did not know at the time, but the video had been manipulated using AI, to falsely show endorsement from Mr Musk and Mr Lewis. Intrigued, Mr Healey responded to the ad with some personal details: his name, phone, and number. There was no money exchanged - yet. That was all it took. From that point on, Des communicated with a man calling himself 'Carl Heinz', who promised him lucrative investments if he continued to send money. 'I'll be totally honest with you, when all this started, I thought I was going to get a couple of hundred quid for Christmas. And then this guy is talking about thousands, but I have to invest now,' said Mr Healey. The scammer told Mr Healey to download a remote access app - meaning that his phone screen and control would be shared - in addition to Revolut and Binance, which was used to funnel money. Mr Healey was sent simulated websites showing his investments rising, gaining more and more money; though he wasn't allowed to withdraw. 'They put you under a spell. They take over your life. They use human emotions, like guilt, trust and friendship,' he said. After an initial £5,000 and further £10,000 of his own money, Mr Healey was pressured into taking out loans totalling £70,000 from four different banks. When his son flagged concern, he eventually went to the police and realised he had been conned. In their last call, Mr 'Heinz' tried to manipulate Mr Healey into giving him access to clear out his accounts -- before lashing out when he realised it was over. 'That's when I finally heard the real person,' said Mr Healey, who previously believed he had a friendship with Mr Heinz. In the year and a half that has followed, two banks (MBNA and Barclays) have forgiven the loans taken out in his name, of which he says he 'did not see a cent'. But he still owes £10,000 plus interest each to Asda/Lendable and Vanquish, both of whom hold him responsible for the credit even though he was scammed. Now, Mr Healey says his debt is at £27,000, which he cannot pay, and he is on the brink of bankruptcy. 'They're just about to send bailiffs around my house. It's obviously hit my credit rating. I've been to my GP suffering from stress. I'm on antidepressants,' he added. Since appearing on national news and a podcast with Martin Lewis himself, people have reached out to Mr Healey, sharing that they experienced the same (or similar) scam; including a young mother who lost £150,000. Mr Healey was victim to what is known as Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams, a type of fraud where people are tricked or manipulated into sending money. New UK regulation introduced in October means that APP scam victims using mobile banking can expect reimbursement up to £85,000 as standard. But since Mr Healey lost money a year earlier, his case isn't covered. In most cases of fraud, people lose money (75 per cent). Around two thirds of victims managed to fully recover their money last year, according to the crime survey; but this still leaves nearly one million (909,000) incidents where victims lost out. The most common instance is bank and credit account fraud, making up around 2.4 million incidents in the last year alone. This can include fraudulent use of your bank details to take out money or make online purchases, or even using your name to open new accounts. Card fraud continues to rise despite efforts from banks and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase awareness and warnings around fraud. Consumer and retail fraud has also seen the biggest increase, rising by 35 per cent last year to 1.1 million incidents. This largely includes product-related fraud, where consumers are duped into buying something or receive a fraudulent product. One example is falling for misleading advertising, and paying for something which doesn't fulfil its promises. Oasis fans have recently lost over £2 million to ticket scams, new research today from Lloyds Bank shows; as fraudsters target areas where buyers are desperate due to high demand. Another is counterfeit goods, where people might unknowingly buy a fake product from a third-party retailer but pay full price. In other cases, people buy goods online which never show up. These days, most (but not all) cases of bank or credit fraud see full reimbursement, where there is evidence of card details being used without authorisation. Victims of consumer fraud are less likely to get their money back; with 52 per cent of them only recovering a fraction of losses, or none at all. Consumer fraud often takes place through online marketplaces or third-party transactions. Tracking the end bank account or cryptowallet to find a responsible party is increasingly difficult. Some further 149,000 Brits were victims of computer viruses last year, the crime survey also estimates; and of those who lost money, none were able to fully recover their losses. 'If you're on your computer and you happened to click on a piece of malware which infects your computer, who's your reimbursement going to come from?' said Nick Stripe, head of crime statistics at the ONS. 'There's not really a route to reimburse whatever damage has been done there. Unless you've got good a good cyber insurance policy in place, which is unlikely for private individuals.' The wealth of personal information available on social media also makes it easier for scammers to appear more authentic; for example, checking in on your birthday, or impersonating friends and family using public photos or details. Previous crime survey data shows that just 1 in 7 fraud offences are reported to the police or Action Fraud. 'Sadly, there is a lot of shame and stigma associated with fraud, and it is vital that victims do not blame themselves,' explained Mr Stevens from Victim Support. 'Victims can struggle with their mental health, sometimes becoming too afraid to leave their home or go online. If you have been impacted, contact Victim Support for free, confidential support.'
The Independent
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘It takes over your life': Fraud cases up 33 per cent as AI, crypto and social media increase risk for millions of victims
Fraud cases in England and Wales surged by more than 1 million last year, new figures reveal, with some victims losing tens of thousands of pounds to scammers. Over 2024, there was a 33 per cent rise in fraud incidents compared to the previous year, rising from an estimated 3 million cases to 4.1 million, according to new data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Fraud can take many different and increasingly sophisticated forms in the digital age - with one man losing £75,000 through a complex scam involving AI, cryptocurrency and two famous figures. 'It just takes over your life. It destroys everything,' Des Healey, a scam victim who is still in debt, told the Independent. Last year had highest number of fraud incidents on record since the data was first collected in 2017, meaning 7 per cent of adults were targeted by a scam. 'This huge rise underlines the simple fact that not enough is being done to prevent fraud or bring criminals to justice,' said Wayne Stevens, national fraud lead at charity Victim Support. 'Being a victim of fraud can unravel your entire life. We have supported people who have lost life changing amounts of money – forcing them to sell treasured possessions, or in extreme cases, into bankruptcy or homelessness.' Fraud is defined as 'a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain of property or money, or causing loss or risk of loss to another'. More than £649 million was lost to investment fraud alone last year, ActionFraud figures show. As a little-understood investment, cryptocurrencies are touted in two thirds of all cases. Des Healey, a 60-year-old from Brighton, was one such victim. In August 2023, Mr Healey saw a video on Facebook which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk and money guru Martin Lewis praising a new bitcoin investment scheme. He did not know at the time, but the video had been manipulated using AI, to falsely show endorsement from Mr Musk and Mr Lewis. Intrigued, Mr Healey responded to the ad with some personal details: his name, phone, and number. There was no money exchanged - yet. That was all it took. From that point on, Des communicated with a man calling himself 'Carl Heinz', who promised him lucrative investments if he continued to send money. 'I'll be totally honest with you, when all this started, I thought I was going to get a couple of hundred quid for Christmas. And then this guy is talking about thousands, but I have to invest now,' said Mr Healey. The scammer told Mr Healey to download a remote access app - meaning that his phone screen and control would be shared - in addition to Revolut and Binance, which was used to funnel money. Mr Healey was sent simulated websites showing his investments rising, gaining more and more money; though he wasn't allowed to withdraw. ' They put you under a spell. They take over your life. They use human emotions, like guilt, trust and friendship,' he said. After an initial £5,000 and further £10,000 of his own money, Mr Healey was pressured into taking out loans totalling £70,000 from four different banks. When his son flagged concern, he eventually went to the police and realised he had been conned. In their last call, Mr 'Heinz' tried to manipulate Mr Healey into giving him access to clear out his accounts -- before lashing out when he realised it was over. 'That's when I finally heard the real person,' said Mr Healey, who previously believed he had a friendship with Mr Heinz. In the year and a half that has followed, two banks (MBNA and Barclays) have forgiven the loans taken out in his name, of which he says he 'did not see a cent'. But he still owes £10,000 plus interest each to Asda/Lendable and Vanquish, both of whom hold him responsible for the credit even though he was scammed. Now, Mr Healey says his debt is at £27,000, which he cannot pay, and he is on the brink of bankruptcy. 'They're just about to send bailiffs around my house. It's obviously hit my credit rating. I've been to my GP suffering from stress. I'm on antidepressants,' he added. Since appearing on national news and a podcast with Martin Lewis himself, people have reached out to Mr Healey, sharing that they experienced the same (or similar) scam; including a young mother who lost £150,000. Mr Healey was victim to what is known as Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams, a type of fraud where people are tricked or manipulated into sending money. New UK regulation introduced in October means that APP scam victims using mobile banking can expect reimbursement up to £85,000 as standard. But since Mr Healey lost money a year earlier, his case isn't covered. What do the numbers say on fraud? In most cases of fraud, people lose money (75 per cent). Around two thirds of victims managed to fully recover their money last year, according to the crime survey; but this still leaves nearly one million (909,000) incidents where victims lost out. The most common instance is bank and credit account fraud, making up around 2.4 million incidents in the last year alone. This can include fraudulent use of your bank details to take out money or make online purchases, or even using your name to open new accounts. Card fraud continues to rise despite efforts from banks and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase awareness and warnings around fraud. Consumer and retail fraud has also seen the biggest increase, rising by 35 per cent last year to 1.1 million incidents. This largely includes product-related fraud, where consumers are duped into buying something or receive a fraudulent product. One example is falling for misleading advertising, and paying for something which doesn't fulfil its promises. Oasis fans have recently lost over £2 million to ticket scams, new research today from Lloyds Bank shows; as fraudsters target areas where buyers are desperate due to high demand. Another is counterfeit goods, where people might unknowingly buy a fake product from a third-party retailer but pay full price. In other cases, people buy goods online which never show up. Fraud in the digital age These days, most (but not all) cases of bank or credit fraud see full reimbursement, where there is evidence of card details being used without authorisation. Victims of consumer fraud are less likely to get their money back; with 52 per cent of them only recovering a fraction of losses, or none at all. Consumer fraud often takes place through online marketplaces or third-party transactions. Tracking the end bank account or cryptowallet to find a responsible party is increasingly difficult. Some further 149,000 Brits were victims of computer viruses last year, the crime survey also estimates; and of those who lost money, none were able to fully recover their losses. 'If you're on your computer and you happened to click on a piece of malware which infects your computer, who's your reimbursement going to come from?' said Nick Stripe, head of crime statistics at the ONS. 'There's not really a route to reimburse whatever damage has been done there. Unless you've got good a good cyber insurance policy in place, which is unlikely for private individuals.' The wealth of personal information available on social media also makes it easier for scammers to appear more authentic; for example, checking in on your birthday, or impersonating friends and family using public photos or details. Previous crime survey data shows that just 1 in 7 fraud offences are reported to the police or Action Fraud. 'Sadly, there is a lot of shame and stigma associated with fraud, and it is vital that victims do not blame themselves,' explained Mr Stevens from Victim Support. 'Victims can struggle with their mental health, sometimes becoming too afraid to leave their home or go online. If you have been impacted, contact Victim Support for free, confidential support.'
BBC News
24-04-2025
- BBC News
Personal theft up 22% in England and Wales, ONS says
Personal thefts recorded by police in England and Wales were up 22% in 2024 from the previous year, according to official from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows police recorded 152,416 thefts from the person offences last year, the highest since the current data methods began in was also on the rise, surpassing half a million recorded offences for the first the number of homicides was the lowest for a decade, and overall crime was still below pre-pandemic levels and down more than 75% since the mid-1990s. There were also 54,587 knife crime offences recorded by police in 2024, up 2% from the previous year, while firearm offences decreased by 20%.Overall, police recorded 6.64 million crimes in England and Wales last year - down 1% from to the data, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the government "will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities".She added: "That's why we're putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year."To build a bigger picture of crime in England and Wales, the ONS also refers to estimates from its crime Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is a face-to-face survey which asks people aged 16 and over about their experiences of crime in the past estimated that there were 9.6 million incidents of what is described as "headline crime" in 2024 - which includes theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence with or without latest CSEW survey reported that at the end of 2024:People's experiences of theft had gone up by 13% - including a 50% rise in theft from the person offences, such as mobile phone theftTheft from outside a dwelling - such as courier packages being taken from people's doorsteps - went up by 19%Fraud incidents, including bank and credit account fraud, were up by 33% to around 4.1 million incidents - with around 3 million incidents involving a loss and 2.1 million victims fully reimbursed in these casesMeanwhile, ONS data showed no significant change in people's experience of violent crime, which remained at the lowest level since equivalent records began in ONS reported that, over the last 10 years, there has been an increase in sexual the year to March last year, 2.6% of people aged 16 to 59 reported experiencing sexual assault, including attempts. Ten years earlier, the proportion was 1.5%.There has been a fall in domestic abuse over the same period, with 5.4% of those aged 16-59 reporting they had experienced domestic abuse in the previous 12 months, down from 6.5% a decade earlier.
Telegraph
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Revealed: 99.5pc of criminals don't go to jail
As few as one in 200 crimes results in an offender being sent to jail, analysis of official figures shows as career criminals escape justice. An estimated 13 million crimes were committed in the year to September 2024, but just 71,573 jail sentences were handed down by judges or magistrates, equivalent to 0.5 per cent, according to the analysis. Separate data show that more than half of the offences for which someone was convicted were committed by just under 10 per cent of convicts, prolific criminals responsible for multiple crimes. The data, from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), show that the number of prolific offenders has increased over the past decade – and many are not being imprisoned. Offenders with more than 50 convictions have been spared jail in more than 50,000 cases since 2007. The number of career criminals avoiding prison has nearly tripled, from 1,289 in 2007 to 3,325 in 2023, MoJ figures show The analysis was compiled by campaign group Crush Crime, which has launched a petition calling for tougher sentences for prolific offenders as a proven way to reduce crime. A rogue's gallery of cases, published on Saturday, shows the devastating human cost of 'soft justice' for career criminals. Lawrence Newport, an academic who previously led a successful campaign to ban XL Bully dogs, founded Crush Crime. He said: 'The solutions are clear. The majority of crime is committed by just 10 per cent of offenders. 'At the moment, this cohort of career criminals is facing reduced sentences and avoiding prison at almost record-breaking levels. Imprisoning these career criminals for longer would protect the public and crush crime rates by up to 90 per cent. 'Opening the courts, ensuring victims no longer have to wait years for a trial, would increase conviction rates – and more criminals, knowing they faced an efficient trial, would plead guilty and stop wasting court time. 'For policing, we must put a stop to the endless red-tape, use the savings from doing so to retain and recruit more of the best talent into the police. Police and crime commissioners must also fire heads of services that are failing the public.' Police recorded 5.4 million criminal offences – excluding fraud, computer misuse and summary motoring crime – in the year to September 2024. However, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), which charts people's actual experience of crime, suggests only 41 per cent of offences are reported to police. This would suggest a total of just over 13 million crimes in that period. Of the 5.4 million recorded by police, 40.9 per cent of cases were closed without a suspect. Just 7.1 per cent of the remaining cases resulted in a charge – and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) subsequently secured a conviction in 82.8 per cent of those cases. That means roughly 315,342 crimes – or 2.4 per cent of the estimated 13 million total – resulted in a conviction. And among those, only 71,573 criminals received jail sentences. 'The picture is clear: of the 13 million crimes committed in a year, only a small proportion result in a suspect being charged, and an even smaller number lead to a conviction or prison sentence,' said Mr Newport. 'The vast majority either go unreported, remain unsolved or do not lead to significant consequences for offenders.' The national figures mask significant regional variations, with the London's Metropolitan Police, Britain's biggest force, charging suspected offenders in fewer than one in 25 cases (4.28 per cent) compared with one in eight (12 per cent) in the highest-performing, Norfolk. Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said police should get back to the basics, and called on all forces to fulfil the pledge they made last year to pursue every line of inquiry on all crimes. He said this meant running all images of suspects caught on CCTV, video doorbells and mobile phones through the police national database for facial recognition matches. As police minister under Rishi Sunak, Mr Philp said, he set a target of doubling the number of images of suspects analysed this way from 100,000 to 200,000. 'Prolific offenders only belong in one place, which is prison, to prevent them from offending,' he said. A Home Office spokesman said: 'For too long, communities across the country have seen neighbourhood policing hollowed out and crime going unpunished. 'That is why this Government's 'Safer Streets' mission vows to restore neighbourhood policing, restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, halve the rates of knife crime and violence against women and girls within a decade, and crack down on the crimes that people see every day in their local areas, from antisocial behaviour and fly-tipping to phone theft and shoplifting. 'Local forces have already received increased funding to start delivering the 13,000 extra neighbourhood officers we have pledged to put on the beat as part of the Government's Plan for Change. 'They will play a vital role in restoring visible policing, helping to ensure that all reported crimes are properly investigated and that more offenders face the justice they deserve.'
