As revealed in insurance claims statistics, fraud and scams cost the UK over 30.5 billion per annum whereas insurance claims that are simply dishonest cost the UK around two billion pounds each year alone! To follow are 5 of the most shocking British fraud incidents that have occurred over the past 10 years:

Cash for Crash Schemes

In the Spring of 2011, the largest insurance fraud ring the insurance industry had ever witnessed was uncovered. The cash for crash method saw a Luton gang use unsuspecting motorists in fraudulent personal injury claims the scam totalled in excess of five million pounds over six years. Insurance industry analysis illustrates that similar false events cost Britain around two billion pounds annually!

The Disappearing Kayaker

In 02, John Darwin made the news in the UK after his shocking insurance scam activity which saw him fake his own death, by drowning at sea so that his spouse could claim over six hundred thousand pounds from his life insurance policy and personal pension plans. His two sons were not informed of the scam and were left grieving, that was until 5 years afterwards he revealed himself to admit the fraud, which resulted in a six year prison sentence.

Frequent Fraudster Who Shot Himself

In March 2011, a frequent insurance scammer risked his life for a fake insurance claim when he blasted his chest to try and get compensation. He later admitted that he was the gunman and this led to a string of other fraudulent claims being revealed. This comprised supposedly, being shot by an air rifle, being accidently stabbed by a member of his family and slipping in a public toilet.

Girlfriends Broken Leg for 100k

Four years ago in 2007 saw the outrageous deed of Gordon Thomson, 32, whose girlfriend was left in agony after intentionally crushing her leg to try to hold the local council negligent by saying that a wall had broken and tumbled on her. They were caught out after footage of the incident was found on a cellphone!

Amateur Footballer Scammed Millions

In April 2011 an amateur soccer player made the news headlines and was sentenced to a year in jail after deceitfully receiving over 1.3M in damages from an insurance firm. James Shikell was awarded 30,000 after a motor accident in 2002 however he petitioned for more than 1.3M to cover loss of earnings and care costs. However, when a video appeared of him playing a vigorous and competitive game of football, he was rumbled!

When you research the insurance statistics, it is no surprise that these fraudulent insurance claims have led to the increase in insurance premiums. It is estimated that it adds a cost of 44 each year to each households insurance costs, the best part of which are auto insurance premiums.

Technorati Tags: CRIME, fraud, Insurance, politics

A man in Edinburgh has been fined several thousand pounds after being caught by police using a fake blue badge to park in London.

The blue badges, which are handed out by local councils, are meant for the disabled and allow the holder to park in disabled bays, also gaining free parking from a myriad of different places. Humayn Reza, the convicted man, used to run a care home in Edinburgh, which is where he is said to have got hold of real blue badges for residents, before using them to fake his own.

Mr. Reza was arrested early last year after parking obviously non disabled vehicle with the fake badge displayed in his window in a disabled parking space. Fraud investigators had been examining the conduct of Mr.. Reza for a long time, but had previously been unable to catch him or a member of his family in the act.

Mr. Reza was taken to court last week, where he was convicted and fined 7515, with the judge telling him his crime was indicative of dishonest and fraudulent behaviour.

Unfortunately, this sort of crime appears to be on the increase in the UK, with more people being arrested for the offence over the last 6 months than the whole of last year combined. Disabled people, who have their blue badges and the extremely popular motability scheme, have seen up to 70% of disabled parking spaces in major cities being used fraudelently by able-bodied people.

Fines for the crime have seen an increase too, with offenders finding themselves on the receiving end of several thousand pound fines. This seems like it could be a real attempt by the government to have a genuine deterrent to committing this crime, although whether or not it’s effective remains to be seen.

Mr. The Edinburgh man’s fine is the second largest for this crime in 2010, with a woman from Birmingham being fined more than 8,000 earlier this year for stopping her Renault Kangoo (oddly enough a popular model for disabled vehicle conversions) illegally, whilst displaying a blue badge that had been reported stolen.

Technorati Tags: blue badges, CRIME, disabled vehicles, fraud

Credit card fraud is an ongoing and extremely worrying problem in the UK and all over the World. It is estimated that millions of pounds are fraudulently obtained every year through credit card fraud, and that the problem is on the increase.

But it’s not all bad news, as a judge this week jailed a gang of four criminals, responsible for numerous credit card thefts throught the UK over a prolonged period.

The leader of the gang, software engineering student Theogones De Montford was called ‘one of the most prolific fraudsters in the UK’ by the judge and jailed for four and a half years. The three remaining members of his gang were jailed for three years each for their parts in an ongoing series of scams.

Operating in numerous different counties across England, the gang are known to have committed fraud in Bristol, Kent, Leicester, Sussex and Cambridge. According to reports, the gang placed hidden devices into card readers which would then transmit the card information back to the crooks via Bluetooth. The gang would then sell on this information to criminals based both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

The criminals were especially hard when it came to their victims, even ripping off those with poor credit credit cards and the elderly.

Generally the gang operated from Shell and Texaco petrol stations, obtaining the details of over 35,000 people in a relatively short period of time. A lot of those people will have been fighting with bad credit in a tough financial environment.

It’s nice to see this kind of predatory criminal behind bars, and it appears to be a major win for the police force, who claimed that they had seen ‘a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UK’.

If you’re worried about fraud of any kind, there are some simple ways you can help increase your chances of staying safe. When you’re at a cash machine, check quickly for any suspicious devices around the card reader section of the machine. If you spot something you’re not happy with, just walk away and find another machine. You should also make sure you cover your pin whenever using Chip and Pin or cash machines, and try to use machines in reputable stores or in an area with video surveillance. If you still don’t feel comfortable, you can always call one of the several credit advice numbers and ask for someone to talk you through improving your personal finance security.

Technorati Tags: credit, Credit Card Fraud, fraud, scam

A man in Edinburgh has been fined several thousand pounds after being caught by police using a fake blue badge to park in London.

The blue badges, which are handed out by local councils, are meant for the disabled and allow the holder to park in disabled bays, also gaining free parking from a myriad of different places. Humayn Reza, the convicted man, used to run a care home in Edinburgh, which is where he is said to have got hold of real blue badges for residents, before using them to fake his own.

Mr. Reza was arrested early last year after parking obviously non disabled vehicle with the fake badge displayed in his window in a disabled parking space. Fraud investigators had been examining the conduct of Mr.. Reza for a long time, but had previously been unable to catch him or a member of his family in the act.

Mr. Reza was taken to court last week, where he was convicted and fined 7515, with the judge telling him his crime was indicative of dishonest and fraudulent behaviour.

Unfortunately, this sort of crime appears to be on the increase in the UK, with more people being arrested for the offence over the last 6 months than the whole of last year combined. Disabled people, who have their blue badges and the extremely popular motability scheme, have seen up to 70% of disabled parking spaces in major cities being used fraudelently by able-bodied people.

Fines for the crime have seen an increase too, with offenders finding themselves on the receiving end of several thousand pound fines. This seems like it could be a real attempt by the government to have a genuine deterrent to committing this crime, although whether or not it’s effective remains to be seen.

Mr. The Edinburgh man’s fine is the second largest for this crime in 2010, with a woman from Birmingham being fined more than 8,000 earlier this year for stopping her Renault Kangoo (oddly enough a popular model for disabled vehicle conversions) illegally, whilst displaying a blue badge that had been reported stolen.

Technorati Tags: blue badges, CRIME, disabled vehicles, fraud

Credit card fraud is an ongoing and extremely worrying problem in the UK and all over the World. It is estimated that millions of pounds are fraudulently obtained every year through credit card fraud, and that the problem is on the increase.

But it’s not all bad news, as a judge this week jailed a gang of four criminals, responsible for numerous credit card thefts throught the UK over a prolonged period.

The leader of the gang, software engineering student Theogones De Montford was called ‘one of the most prolific fraudsters in the UK’ by the judge and jailed for four and a half years. The three remaining members of his gang were jailed for three years each for their parts in an ongoing series of scams.

Operating in numerous different counties across England, the gang are known to have committed fraud in Bristol, Kent, Leicester, Sussex and Cambridge. According to reports, the gang placed hidden devices into card readers which would then transmit the card information back to the crooks via Bluetooth. The gang would then sell on this information to criminals based both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

The criminals were especially hard when it came to their victims, even ripping off those with poor credit credit cards and the elderly.

Generally the gang operated from Shell and Texaco petrol stations, obtaining the details of over 35,000 people in a relatively short period of time. A lot of those people will have been fighting with bad credit in a tough financial environment.

It’s nice to see this kind of predatory criminal behind bars, and it appears to be a major win for the police force, who claimed that they had seen ‘a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UK’.

If you’re worried about fraud of any kind, there are some simple ways you can help increase your chances of staying safe. When you’re at a cash machine, check quickly for any suspicious devices around the card reader section of the machine. If you spot something you’re not happy with, just walk away and find another machine. You should also make sure you cover your pin whenever using Chip and Pin or cash machines, and try to use machines in reputable stores or in an area with video surveillance. If you still don’t feel comfortable, you can always call one of the several credit advice numbers and ask for someone to talk you through improving your personal finance security.

Technorati Tags: credit, Credit Card Fraud, fraud, scam

The desire to help others is a common need among people. This is commonly done by means of non-profit charities that have been set up for this purpose. Sadly, scammers have begun to take advantage of people’s goodwill and generosity, creating schemes to deceive.

One charity scam which has been prevalent in the past few years is helping families and children overseas. Pictures and videos of malnourished, emaciated children and impoverished needy families are portrayed in pamphlets and television spots. Potential recipients are informed just how much their money will help and what it will provide for them.

While no one wants to see children or families suffer, donating money without a thorough knowledge of where it will go is not a wise decision. Within the past few years, several scams have demonstrated that the money collected for various charities have instead gone right into the scammers pockets and never reach the needy recipients. Unfortunately, the occurrence of such flagrant deceits has tainted all charities, and many of these organizations are authentic, working diligently to help those in need.

Some companies advertise for charity donations through the Internet, television, magazines, and other type of media. Typically, donations of at least ten dollars are requested. If a person stops to think how much is spent for these advertisements they would know where most of the money is going.

As an example, one charity that was investigated was set up legally and actually sent money to the needy in foreign lands. But it was disclosed that ninety percent of the money that was donated to them went for the generous salaries of the administrators. As such, this organization was not considered a true charity and was considered a scam.

Charitable frauds take many guises. They can be requests on behalf of the homeless, fighting animal cruelty, the poor, and nearly any other type of help. While there are many legitimate charities in existence there is always someone in the wings that will use any means to remove money from ones pockets in order to fill their own.

Proper investigation is the only way to tell if a charity is real or counterfeit. An investigation can be conducted through sources such as the Internet, consumer complaint divisions, government agencies, the Better Business Bureau, and other such methods. If the appeal contains a name and telephone number, then a telephone service such as phonelookupagent.com/859/ can be used to verify the authenticity of the person or organization.

If someone comes directly to your house collecting donations for a well-known charity, you should immediately be wary. One has no way of knowing if this is where the money is going or if it is going into the collectors pocket. For a well-known and trusted organization, a mailed or hand-delivered gift will ensure that the money actually goes for its intended purpose.

Technorati Tags: charity scams, donation, fraud, scams

‘Hitman’ scams are a relatively new type of scam that you may encounter. More and more instances of these scams are occurring, and people have to find out what they can do. The scam begins with an e-mail address, which is exceptionally easy to obtain on the internet.

The writer e-mails the mark, states that they have been hired to kill the recipient, but feel bad about carrying out the contract so will not do it if they are paid a certain amount of money. The recipient of the email is often surprised and horrified at this. Typically, anyone who is wrapped up in this variety of fraud will lose many thousands of dollars.

This type of criminal plays on peoples fears. After all, hitmen on TV kill people for various, inconsequential reasons all of the time. These kinds of things do not happen to regular people, and especially if said person has done no wrong.

Some people who have received these e-mails have responded by sending the money demanded. Other people contact the authorities, who handle this type of situation professionally. Anyone receiving these threats should do the same thing.

There’s a variant of this scam that comes in the form of an email claiming to be from a police department. The email states that your name is on a list for potential murders or attacks. The e-mail proceeds to ask you for personal details. All this serves to do is give the scammer all the means to steal your identity. This is precisely the reason that you need to use 411telephonedirectory.com/Texas/Houston/832/866.htm and similar sources for telephone lookups. In this way, you’ll be able to verify the identity of the person who has contacted you.

The personal information gleaned from the victim can be used to clear out the bank accounts and credit cards of the person, robbing them of all their money. These kinds of scams generate insurmountable debts, and can destroy your credit rating.

The following years will likely see an increase in the number of scams like this. If you want to avoid falling victim to this, don’t open emails from people you don’t know. Even e-mails that seem legitimate, and which may seem to be coming from a reputable company, should be treated carefully. If you’re not actively engaged in business with someone, don’t buy it. Scammers are now altering well-known business names such as WalMart and Yahoo in order to gain access to users’ accounts.

Your email is meant to be just as private as your snail mail, so keep that in mind. A scammer can only obtain your information if you actively open and replay to his e-mail, so try to avoid opening them entirely. The rule of thumb, to avoid scams like the hitman, is to use the delete key.

Technorati Tags: email, fraud, hitman scams, Internet, scams

An iPhone insurancecompany is reporting that some iPhone enthusiasts, in their quest to lay their hands on the latest model of the blockbuster device, are indulging in insurance frauds.

Whenever a new model of the iPhone hits the floor, insurance claims on the smartphone jumped by as much as 50 percent which was asserted by the insurance firm, Supercover Insurance, which largely covers electronic gadgets.

You can insure and protect your Apple iPhone effectively by using iPhone insurance (which is about 550 to replace) but it is alarming how many people are prepared not only to compromise their morals but also to break the law by committing insurance fraud. All eventual fraud situations are handed to the Police and face potential prosecution.

There have been a massive rise in the number of insurance fraud cases which has increased in parallel with every release of a new iPhone model – and also in parallel with the credit crunch and recession.

It is considered by the company that around 40 percent of these claims filed during this period are suspicious, with users deliberately ruining their old iPhone in a bid to get it upgraded to a new model.

Carmi Korine, director of the insurance firm, noted: While most iPhone insurancecustomers take out insurance because they value their iPhone, we started to notice increases in claims as new and upgraded iPhones were launched.

“It is observed that for short periods around new model or upgrade launches, claims for lost, stolen or damaged iPhones go through the roof, Korine added.

In order to grab the next-generation must-have spec smartphone, a significant number of iPhone users are simply resorting to these extreme measures, is what Korine suggested.

Interestingly, the obsession for the iPhones latest model goes to an extent that users opt for bashing their erstwhile model with hammer blows, or even drive their car over it, the iPhone insurance group claimed.

Technorati Tags: CRIME, fraud, i phone insurance, Insurance, insurance fraud, iphone, iphone insurance, News, theft, theif, thief

‘Hitman’ scams are a relatively new type of scam that you may encounter. More and more instances of these scams are occurring, and people have to find out what they can do. It’s easier than ever to acquire email addresses of people that you don’t know, which scammers use to their advantages.

The victim receives an email from the con artists stating that a contract is out on their life, but due to their guilt they’re willing to let you go and not go through with it, provided you pay them off. Of course, this type of e-mail is completely shocking to anyone who would receive it. Typically, anyone who is wrapped up in this variety of fraud will lose many thousands of dollars.

People become afraid, and that’s how the criminal succeeds. The prevalence of television has familiarized us with the concept of the hitman or hired gun. This does not, as a rule, happen to the everyday person, especially when they have done nothing to warrant such a threat.

There are those who have fallen for the scam and have sent money to get the “hitman” to back off. Others have been smart enough to turn the e-mail over to the proper authorities. This is the proper course of action if you should encounter such a message.

Another angle related to this scam is an e-mail supposedly from a London, or some other big city police department. They claim they have arrested a suspect, in these threats, and the persons name is on the list. They then ask for personal information. These e-mails are trying to perpetrate an identity theft, so you should never give out your personal information over the internet. cell-registry.com/814/668/

The personal information gleaned from the victim can be used to clear out the bank accounts and credit cards of the person, robbing them of all their money. The victim’s credit record is a complete loss, and they become absolutely broke with no funds to speak of.

This variety of scam is expected to become more prevalent with time. One method of preventing fraud is to simply delete e-mails in which you do not recognize the sender. Even e-mails that seem legitimate, and which may seem to be coming from a reputable company, should be treated carefully. If you’re not actively engaged in business with someone, don’t buy it. Even businesses like Yahoo and WalMart can be invoked by a scammer if they want to attempt stealing your information.

It’s critical that you try to keep your e-mail address private, similar to your traditional mailing address. Despite the fact that scammers can find your email through the proper technology, they can’t get to you unless the email is opened. The rule of thumb, to avoid scams like the hitman, is to use the delete key.

Technorati Tags: email, fraud, hitman scams, Internet, scams

In everyones heart there is a desire to help their fellow man. This is commonly done by means of non-profit charities that have been set up for this purpose. Regrettably, con artists have discovered this is an easy method of wheedling money from people and have set up their own charity fronts.

One such charity fraud that has becoming increasingly common is through providing assistance to children and families in foreign countries. Pictures and videos of malnourished, emaciated children and impoverished needy families are portrayed in pamphlets and television spots. The recipient is told how much their money will help and given an addressed envelope.

Although the intentions of the donor are sincere and intended to relieve the suffering of less fortunate people, it is unwise to give money to a charity without researching how the money is actually used. Scams revealed in the past few years have shown that the money collected in many supposed charity events actually went for the personal pleasure of the scammers rather than for the supposed recipients. As a result, potential donors are suspicious of all charities, including the honest ones that use the money as advertised.

Charitable organizations use magazines, mailings, television, the Internet, and other means to reach a wide audience. Typically, donations of at least ten dollars are requested. However, thinking critically for a moment, one would realize that the vast majority of the money is actually going to pay for these advertisements in the first place.

As an example, one charity that was investigated was set up legally and actually sent money to the needy in foreign lands. Unfortunately, federal investigate showed that almost ninety percent of all donations were used to pay the large salaries of the directors for the charity. As such, this organization was not considered a true charity and was considered a scam.

Charity scams are often very difficult to spot. It can be a plea for the homeless, the destitute, animals, and just about anything else. Although there are hundreds of charities that are authentic and do help, there are always those who are looking for an opportunity to profit from people’s generosity and use it to their own means.

To avoid being taken in by a charity scam it is very important to investigate the organization thoroughly. An investigation can be conducted through sources such as the Internet, consumer complaint divisions, government agencies, the Better Business Bureau, and other such methods. cell-registry.com/305/830/

One should be especially suspect of people coming to the door with cans supposedly collecting for a well-known charity. You have no way of knowing if the donation really does go to the organization or not. In the end, direct donations through the organization’s channel is your best solution.

Technorati Tags: charity scams, donation, fraud, scams