Consumer News » online fraud

Christmas online fraud is a real issue

Alan — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:19:27 +0000

It is estimated that this Christmas over £8 billion will be spent by people in the UK online. Antifraud companies in the UK have warned people to be extra careful in their online spending over the next few weeks as fraud is expected to reach an all-time high.

The figures for Christmas spending online this year are estimated to be a 15% increase on the same figures for last year and this has meant that crooks are taking advantage of people shopping online. The National Fraud Authority has recently released figures that have shown over 40% of people who’ve been shopping online have been defrauded to some extent. The young men the figure is estimated to be three in every four people. Mostly this is down to people forgetting to install anti-virus software when using a PC.

A spokesperson from the authority has said, “It is expected that counterfeit products are going to be one of the biggest problems on the Internet this year. People who order online expecting a genuine item will get something worth far less the items actual value, that is if they receive anything at all. People should be very alert to fraud and remember that if the price seems to be incredibly low you are probably being targeted by a fraudster.” There are also various other steps you can take to protect yourself shopping online such as using a credit card and making sure a website has been verified by Visa.

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Internet fraudster goes directly to jail

Alan — Sat, 07 May 2011 07:49:07 +0000

In court yesterday a serial internet fraudster admitted to a total of five new charges including trying to sell software packages, iPhones and Ryder Cup tickets that did not exist. Phillip Shortman, formally of Cwmbran, pleaded guilty in Newport Magistrates Court, to five offences that fall under the fraud act.

The dates of the offences were between September 7 and 23 of 2010. He committed fraud by false representation by advertising for sale on the internet site Gumtree iPhones for around £400 and Ryder Cup tickets for £240. On eBay he advertised software packages for sale between £350 and £500.

The defendant remained in Cardiff Prison but appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court via a video link. He was remanded in custody by chairwoman of the bench, Marie Morgan, until his sentencing on April 15 in the crown court. The prosecutor said it was obvious the charges speak for themselves. He has quite a history of fraud convictions with 48 between 2005 and 2009.

His notoriety started in 2005 when he funded a trip to New York with 21 similar frauds and was subsequently handed a 12 month detention. He received 30 months in 2009 when he made £7,000 selling Six Nations rugby tickets, laptops, games consoles, and computer graphics that did not exist, on websites.

During his sentencing the Judge referred to his other similar offences calling him a completely dishonest man. Since Shortman owns no assets the court can only make a nominal order for repayment of £1.

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£80,000 eBay scammer guilty of multiple theft charges

Alan — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:05:10 +0000

It is not certain exactly how many charges of fraud were brought against Jamie Lane of Paignton in Exeter; at least seventeen of them were dismissed, but enough were upheld to send him to jail for two years. Lane, a 39-year-old man with what was described by his solicitor as “a dreadful history” finally pleaded guilty on 21 charges of theft, fraud and handling stolen goods.

Lane appeared at Exeter Crown Court last month, where the court was informed that most of an approximately £80,000 scam came from eBay transactions in which the accused sold property he had stolen, or accepted payment for property he never owned. He then ‘washed’ the money he received by purchasing and re-selling used cars.

In a long series of fraudulent transactions that took place between November 2007 and December 2010, Lane stole farm machinery in various locations around Devon and Cornwall, including tractors, trailers and chippers. He then sold them at auction to buyers who were unaware they were purchasing stolen goods.

The police were investigating the sales of those stolen goods when they uncovered another aspect of Lane’s chicanery; he was also advertising on eBay offering products that did not exist. He got around the usual payment security measures by persuading buyers to contact him directly. Lane’s ads said shipment of the product would take place upon payment, but no products were shipped.

Defence for Jamie Lane argued that the defendant had a terrible upbringing and a diagnosed case of Asberger’s, and simply could not help himself. They said he had a congenital history of lying that was a result of an unhappy childhood; presumably he learned to cope with it by lying and stealing.

The judge, John Neligan, decided that was not a good excuse. He said the defendant was guilty of harming a lot of people, and prosecutors said there were probably a lot more who hadn’t yet learned of the fraud, therefore had not come forward to claim restitution.

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Over One in Five Online Shoppers Have Been A Victim of Online Fraud

Alan — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:17:18 +0000

A new survey has highlighted the concerns that consumers have when it comes to online shopping. The survey was commissioned by eWise Payo the only exclusively online UK bank. The survey worryingly revealed that over 21%, or one fifth of British adults who have bought online have been victims of online fraud.

The research also revealed that 88% of regular online shoppers have either fallen victim to online fraud or are scared that this will happen to them at some time. While 95% said that they had purchased online, with well over 2/3 of those buying goods online at least once in a month.

A statement saying that the consumer was concerned about the security when they were paying for services and goods online was put into the survey to see how many agreed with it, and 69% did. 54% of shoppers also revealed that they had abandoned a transaction halfway through due to fears over the security of their private details.

Interestingly, when online shoppers were asked if they agreed that they are concerned about security around making online purchases, the proportion which stated they are increased with age. Respondents were asked to pick the two payment methods they feel are most secure when making online purchases. Only 20 percent made debit cards one of their top two choices. Commenting on this finding, John France, managing director at eWise payo, said: “This is a worrying sign, it seems banks and consumers have drifted apart.

“The figures we have highlighted are alarming. In spite of the time and money invested in protecting consumer’s online security, retailers’ websites are still being hacked and fraudsters continue to win the battle.”

Almost two thirds (64 percent) of online shoppers have abandoned a purchase due to issues relating to speed and difficulty in making a payment. France added: “It seems every stakeholder in the transaction suffers: the consumer abandons the purchase through frustration, the merchant doesn’t process the sale, and the payment isn’t processed by the bank. “Credit and debit cards were designed for the face-to-face environment, and the additional security measures only slow the payment process.”

72 percent of online shoppers who have online banking access advised that they would feel more secure if their bank provided a payment option that allowed them to pay for goods online directly from their online banking account, without sharing account information with the merchant.

In January 2011, eWise launched eWise payo, the first and only bank inclusive UK Online Banking ePayments (OBeP) solution – the safest and fastest online payment technology. The solution enables the consumer to initiate secure and private payments for goods and services or bills online, without having to provide personal financial information to any third parties(2). To use eWise payo, customers are directed straight to their bank’s website where they will log in using their existing additional security measures only slow the payment process.”

In January 2011, eWise launched eWise payo, the first and only bank inclusive UK Online Banking ePayments (OBeP) solution – the safest and fastest online payment technology. The solution enables the consumer to initiate secure and private payments for goods and services or bills online, without having to provide personal financial information to any third parties(2). To use eWise payo, customers are directed straight to their bank’s website where they will log in using their existing account credentials. Once in their online banking application, consumers select from any account with available funds and confirm the payment. eWise technology enables the secure payment, leveraging the UK’s Faster Payments network, thereby generating a near immediate payment for the merchant.

France added: “eWise payo is the answer to the industry’s demand for improved security; the bank demand for innovation; the consumer demand for control and the merchant demand for lower costs.”

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2130 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th – 18th March 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

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19 year old in £12 million internet scam

Alan — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:15:20 +0000

A nineteen year-old son of a politician was the mastermind behind a huge Internet scam and an infamous website. Nick Webber, son of Tony Webber who was formerly a Guernsey politician, masterminded a stolen credit card ring with a potential net of about £12 million.

He was assisted in his criminal enterprise by Samantha Worley, 22, Gary Kelly, 21, and Shakira Ricardo who all admitted to charges associated with a website called Ghostmaker. Ghostmaker offered stolen credit card features on cards from the EU, U.S., and the UK. The account information was sold for varying amounts, depending upon the origin of the account.

Webber is said to be a master hacker and admitted to charges of conspiracy and fraud. Kelly pleaded guilty to a variety of the same charges and also charges of causing unauthorized modification of computers. Ricardo admitted to conspiracy and fraud, along with receiving criminal property. Worley admitted to a single charge for receiving criminal property.

When Webber was caught, there was data on his laptop linking him to scams involving over 60,000 bank accounts worldwide, and more than 100,000 accounts for credit cards. Webber, who is reported to have gone to school at Southsea, Hampshire, was the man in charge of the Internet scam.

The website reportedly only existed to aid in compromising bank accounts and credit cards, and to distribute malicious software.

Webber was arrested last October after he ran up around £1000 on a compromised credit card at a resort hotel. He skipped bail and ran to Palma, Majorca. He was again arrested upon arriving at Gatwick Airport.

In court, it was argued that he is a flight risk and should not be given bail. Prosecutors pointed out, that with his computer knowledge; he could easily create a new identity and disappear. He is being held in custody pending a sentencing hearing on 28 February 2011.

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1 in 10 are Internet fraud victims

Alan — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:45:19 +0000

Recent claims that as many as 10 per cent of British consumers have been the victims of Internet fraud might be too conservative. That’s according to reports by ProCheckUp who say that the 10 per cent figure may pertain strictly to scams for cash. There are other Internet scammers who rob people of their user credentials. These credentials are used across various sites and may have a potentially higher profit for thieves than do credit card numbers.

The other factor in credential theft is that it is becoming harder to steal credit card numbers.

ProCheckUp says that in performing a check on a popular site with around 100.000 subscribers they found that hackers were interested in first downloading passwords and usernames. People often make the mistake of using a single user name and password for multiple sites; this increases their vulnerability at various sites.

Other recent reports say that nearly 33 per cent do not use the Internet for shopping because they fear identity theft. This puts the government numbers for a digital Britain far behind projections

Experts say that online businesses need to realize that they should be responsible for their customer security. Until online business can provide shoppers with protections that will make them feel secure, the trend is likely to move away from buying online, rather than toward it.

Other experts say that it is ultimately the job of the online customers to take methods to protect themselves from fraud. Consumers need to do things, they say, such as creating individual usernames and passwords for individual sites. That way, if they get hacked at one site, they will not be automatically hacked at all others.

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Online fraud increases by double

Alan — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:00:11 +0000

The UK continues to lose more money due to online fraud, recent reports confirm. In fact, in the past six months since March there has been an increase in Internet frauds perpetrated on UK citizens.

The average amount of loss due to online fraud has pretty much doubled within the most recent six months, when compared to the six months previous. Since March, the average online fraud loss has risen to a high of about £700 in comparison to a high of about £350 in the six months prior to March.

Experts say this is because of a lack of diligence on the part of consumers. Consumers have allowed their guard to be lowered in regard to using enhanced security sites. More consumers admit to not restricting themselves to business on verified sites only, and these consumers are being hurt by fraud.

There are always scammers out there, willing to take advantage of online buyers. Consumers must protect themselves by making sure they only use secure, verified sites for conducting business. Companies like VeriSign check and approve the legitimacy of an online site.

This site is then allowed to display the VeriSign approval, signifying that the company has determined it is a safe place to conduct business.

Consumers must also be willing to do their own due diligence to ensure that they are doing business with a legitimate website and not a fake or clone of the real one. They can accomplish this by checking the site with the legitimate operators and making certain they are going to the right place.

They can also look for signs of enhanced security and verification from businesses like VeriSign or others.

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Sellers can also fall victim to internet fraud

Alan — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:49:53 +0000

There are plenty of internet scams to be found if you start browsing online, and if one is not careful then it is easy to actually fall victim to one of the numerous scams. Some of the most popular types of scams are found on websites such as Craigslist and eBay but there are plenty more out there that involve ad websites that use emails scam those with legitimate reason to take the fraudulent emails seriously.

For instance, a Manchester resident received two emails about an item that was listed on Craigslist for 1200 pounds. A scammer stumbled onto the ad and said that they wanted the item and would post a check right away. Once the check arrived it was written well over the price of the item and a second email from the scammer stated it should be used to pay the ‘shipper’ he was going to send to pick up the item.

The scammer continued to explain that the seller should take the 1200 pounds out of the check balance and then use the rest of the money to pay the ‘shipper’ via a money transfer company adding that the victim could keep 100 pounds for the trouble. Throughout the email poor grammar, poor English, and a sense of urgency all clearly shine through as warning signs that a scam was underway.

As you may imagine, had the check been deposited it would have bounced and the ‘shipper’ that was paid would become untraceable as the funds would well be on their way into the scammer’s pockets without spending a penny.

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Office of Fair Trading to offer more online shopping protection

Alan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:16:39 +0000

The antitrust regulator for Britain sat down with Google Inc, EBay Inc, and a few other companies to consult on a national strategy that would provide a higher level of protection for shoppers from the UK that spent approximately £38 billion pounds on online purchases during 2009.

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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