The plan calls for the Office of Fair Trading to step in and issue fines, investigate, and file formal lawsuits when the industry lacks appropriate efforts to guard consumers against fraud and adequate competition.

OFT Director, Noah Curthoys, stated that the strategy should help increase growth and competition by utilizing methods that are focused on protecting online consumers, which will in turn help the UK become a leader across the globe in online enforcement.

Last year 9.5% of all UK retail sales were from internet transactions, which was a higher proportion than what was seen across Europe according to the OFT.  Additionally, the OFT stated that 71% of all retailers in the UK have internet sales portals compared to the European Union average of 51%.

The Government started to make plans after it found that 6% of those that make internet purchases have lost their money due to fraud online.

The OFT stated that it is still seeking input from consumers, businesses, and trade groups before it actually publishes a proposal this December.  In a press statement the group also said that it has consulted already with Amazon Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, and Microsoft Corp.

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In particular, the number of people who reported they were victims of impersonation in which a criminal takes on someone else’s identity in order to purchase goods fraudulently or access personal details has increased year end by 22%.

The intense focus of the media on identity theft has increased awareness of the problem among consumers but even though the media offers tips for how to reduce the personal threat of being victimized, the numbers of such crimes continue to increase.

According to figures from CIFAS, on average over 275 people become a victim of some form of identity theft each day.

With the increase in identity fraud, it is an excellent idea to purchase some type of identity protection insurance to protect you should a criminal get their hands on your personal information.

CIFAS Chief Executive, Peter Hurst, stated that the recession may be partially to blame for the increase in such crime because as the UK continues to climb out of the economic hole there have been obvious changes in the patterns of fraud taking place with more application fraud at first followed by takeover fraud which has transpired into a strong emergence of identity fraud.

Hurst added that as the economic recovery continues to progress it is almost a guarantee that fraudsters will start to work harder at taking advantage of the fact.

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Specialising in sim only deals, these relate to offers where you receive free sim cards and purchase a monthly activation of the sim card based on your current usage needs.  At any point with a thirty day notice you can drop the service or switch your package plan allowing for complete flexibility when it comes to network providers and package terms.

Simcards.co.uk is focused on offering comprehensive information on sim only deals to help users in search of tailored package deals research different offers and buy packages online that fit their budgets.

Within the website are links to valuable pieces of information that can help browsers make an educated decision when it comes to mobile phone activation choices such as information on sim cards, monthly pay tariffs, and pay as you go tariffs.  By reading the useful information provided within these areas browsers can ascertain if sim only deals are the best deal for them.

Also featured on Simcards.co.uk is information on how to go about purchasing a sim only deal online with links to plans that offer pay as you go sim cards, sim card readers, and pay monthly sim cards.

Once again the links help a user review package offerings to determine which type of plan will best fit their needs.  Given the fact that packages differ greatly by minutes, perks, text messages, and internet browsing capabilities careful review over multiple packages should be completed before a final decision is made for the best results.

Some of the results that Simcards.co.uk offers browsers the chance to review are low cost deals offered through Carphone Warehouse and Mobile Fun featuring top mobile network providers such as Vodafone, O2, 3, Orange, and Virgin Mobile.

Also featured are tariff top up cards for those who already have a sim only deal and only need to top off their usage so that they can continue to enjoy the benefits that a sim only deal plan can bring to their lives.  With a long list of providers, the website is a one stop shop for all mobile needs.

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Identity fraud expert, Joe Santini explained that fraud alerts were never perfect although many companies would like you to believe this was so.  Instead, he stated that a fraud alert that is placed on a credit file means that a credit company must make sure they take the proper steps to carefully open a new line of credit for you to ensure you identity.

This practice does not actually protect your bank account or any of the credit cards that you have, it only protects new line of credit from being opened.

Thus, if you already have purchased identity theft protection or are thinking about buying one, you may want to take a minute to step back and investigate what you are actually paying for and if there are alternatives to the bills that come along with such services.

However, the bills should not keep you away from an identity theft, given that the epidemic is growing across the nation with identity thieves rejoicing over the new law that will aid them.

It should however make you look a little closer at any serve that you choice and keep in mind that now the government can only do too much protect you in the case of such a situation.

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Amanda Thomas, aged 43, told a specialist law firm that she was worth £250m and had properties located across the world as she asked them to draw up legal documents to serve as a will for her three children after she died.

In return, lawyers from Thomas of Penrhyn Bay, Conwy did work valued at £43,000 for her before it emerged that she was lying. In Mold Crown Court on Friday it came out that she was actually receiving benefits and simply looking for attention.

Judge Niclas Parry questioned why the lawyer who handled her claims, Drummond Kerr from the Meridian Law firm, a specialist tax and estate firm, did not question her false claims earlier.

Last September she met with the lawyer in a seven hour meeting and told him that she had accumulated a large amount of wealth and had 70 properties spread throughout the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, and Africa.

Kerr stated that it was a remarkable story but still plausible and that at the time he had no reason to doubt that she was telling the truth. She told him that she was terminally ill with a short life expectancy and needed advice on how to handle her global assets.

In all 43 complex documents were prepared for her that included various trust agreements and multiple wills.  When suspicions were raised it was found she had no money to pay for the work, no assets, and was not suffering from cancer.

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The commission plans to minimize risk by offering minimum compensation to those who lose money due to operational errors, fraud, or administrative malpractice.  The compensation has been increased up to €50,000 from €20,000.

In the case that a bank collapses account holders will receive their money back within seven days. It has also been proposed that the national deposit guarantee is raised up to €100,000 in all countries that are members of the EU.

The new rule would standardize national rules and would allow almost 95% of all account holders in Europe to get their savings back in the case of bank collapse.  The EU first moved to raise the amount that was covered during the 2008-2009 crises.  Next year the commission is proposing to double that amount again.

It also plans to harmonize the European guarantee schemes for bank deposits as there are now 40 separate programmes in existence across the 27 nations that make up the European Union.

The new rules are yet to be cleared by the European parliament and the EU states although both have been called upon to quickly approve the package.

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Even more interestingly, most mystery shoppers not only get paid for their time, but also get to keep the goods they purchase on commission while shopping making your pay packet worth twice as much.

For those who have seen ads about mystery shopper vacancies but are not aware of what the job actually entails, the principle is pretty simple.  A mystery shopper is responsible for visiting a store, making a purchase, and closely paying attention to the service and condition of the store so that they can fill out a report about their visit.  Their survey is then returned to the shop that has ordered a mystery shopper so that they can evaluate how well their staff are manning the counter and dealing with customers, without anyone suspecting they are under scrutiny.

Mystery shopper jobs are unique in the fact that there is no actual work place, but instead a revolving list of new stores to visit and evaluate.  Each time a mystery shopper is sent out to a department store or boutique they are given an allowance that they are expected to spend.

The goods that are purchased with this allowance become theirs along with their pay, which means that essentially you are paid to shop and given a bonus for doing so just for paying close attention to the service and quality of the transaction.

Given the fact that most people usually pay attention to the good, bad, or indifferent service they receive while shopping, the job is practically the simplest task to perform, which is why it is surprising for most to learn that there are actual mystery shopper vacancies that need to be filled if you want a part time or full time (as your schedule permits) job that focuses around shopping experiences.

Everyday shops contact mystery shopper agencies in order to check up on the service and impression that their stores make on consumers.  Why not become the person that can determine how they rate, while receiving the perks of a mystery shopper at the same time.  A mystery shopper is the one consumer that can actually voice their opinion about a shop and know that it will get recognized by those in charge.  Therefore, not only will you receive a good rate of pay and spending allowance, but every day you can rest assured that your opinion is being heard and responded to.

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Paul Barrett was the first person within the UK to be prosecuted for fixing online auction prices after he admitted that he used dual eBay accounts to bid against his own items.

He was caught after a complaint was issued against his mini-bus hire firm leading to an investigation from the North Yorkshire Trading Standards.  The complaint was that he sold and advertised a vehicle on eBay with lower mileage than it had originally.

Officers discovered that Barrett was selling goods on the auction site under the name ‘shanconpaul’ and then using the name ‘paulthebusman’ to bid on them.  He would also use the second account to post positive feedback for the account as well.

He was found guilty of breaching both the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.

Barrett plead guilty but stated that he did not know that bidding against his own auctions was a criminal offense.

The Office of Fair Trading 2007 report stated that shill bidding is one of the most popular types of problems that occur with online auction site bidders.  In fact, 14% of those polled in a survey stated that they thought they had been victims of shill bidding.

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Although Apple sells billions of apps and songs to iTunes users on a regular basis, with this many sales it is bound to attract fraudsters as well.  However, new app purchases that have boosted the sales of one App Store developer up by forty points seem highly suspicious.

The category in question appears in books and is a Japanese manga set of titles published by supposed developer Thuat Nguen.  It is very unlikely that 80% of Apples book sales were from these anime book apps given the fact that they were all dumped into the App Store within just a few days and appear to violate property rights.

Of course, the larger concern is that the junk apps are repeatedly being reported by several iTunes users as fraud.  Ratings attached to many of the titles complain about discovering that the purchases were made without their permission on their accounts although there is a rash of positive reviews interspersed among these creating the image that the group behind the fraudulent sales may be attempting to cover their tracks.

Outside of the fact that the book sales are ruining the integrity of the App store charts, but they also are dropping the rank of legitimate titles by developers so that shoppers cannot view them as easily hurting the value of the overall Apple Store to users.

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Romanian Horea Dumitru, aged 22, and Hungarian Kristzan Racz, aged 31, plead guilty to the fraud which took place in Edinburgh on March 1^st.  An off duty policeman caught the pair when he saw them using the cards.

The Edinburgh Sheriff Court told the pair that custody was the only sentencing option.

Before the sentence was passed, the court was told that the pair’s flat contained a card cloning factory that was filled with equipment which was found during a police raid.  During the raid officers seized 24 false cards, £1,140 in cash, mobile phones, computer programmes from laptops, gift cards, and memory cards.

Sheriff Scott stated that the pair pled guilty to many serious charges due to the fact they were involved in premeditated fraud and had the equipment to prove they had planned on committing many more fraudulent acts implying that they were in essence caught in the act.

At a prior meeting, fiscal depute Ruth Ross-Davie stated that the off duty police offer saw the pair acting oddly and observed them feeding a variety of cards repeatedly into the machines.

The plot worked by attaching a false fascia to each ATM machine so that the cards could be used to take out money instantly.

The jail terms were dated back to March 2^nd when the pair was first arrested.

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