Commencing proceedings against a foreign party can often be a perilous journey filled with pitfalls, however, forthcoming changes to Practice Direction 6B will make this a potentially more streamlined and easier process in certain circumstances.
In this Insights In Focus episode, Arun was invited to take a look at the upward trend in instances of fraud: what factors make it easier for fraudsters, and what can the profession do about it?
A Guest Contributor: David Tattersall, Head of Client Relations, Handpicked Accountants (part of Begbies Traynor Group)
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the British government introduced a lifeline to businesses in the form of the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
While this route provided easy and immediate cash access to Covid-19 stricken businesses, the conditions under which these loans were granted were stringent, the key rule being that businesses must use a Bounce Back Loan to provide an economic benefit.
It is expected that of the £47 billion worth of Bounce Back Loans provided, £4.9 billion is likely to be lost to fraud.
What’s classed as Bounce Back Loan misuse and fraud?
The Fraud Advisory Panel (the “FAP”) has recently published a comprehensive assessment of fraud in the COVID-19 pandemic entitled: “Running on empty – how the pandemic revealed a wasted decade” (the “Report”). The Report encompasses all forms of fraud in a variety of sectors with a specific focus on those frauds which flourished during the “perfect storm” of the pandemic. The statistics are startling and the FAP gives a stark warning that unless lessons are learned, the UK will again be caught with its “…institutional defences down.”
Every year the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (“CIFAS”) publish their half year figures. For 2022 the report has just been released using figures from the CIFAS National Fraud Database and the Enhanced Internal fraud Database along with intelligence provided by CIFAS members. The report analyses how levels of fraudulent conduct have changed over the first half of 2022 compared to 2021.
A Guest contributor: Jon Munnery, Insolvency & Restructuring Expert, UK Liquidators (part of Begbies Traynor Group)
If an organisation falsely bolsters its environmental track record for commercial benefit and glosses over unsubstantial sustainability efforts, it could be found guilty of greenwashing tactics.
If there’s little or no evidence to back up marketing claims, the repercussions of fictitious marketing can imperil customer trust, damage brand reputation, and detract attention from true environmental clean-up efforts.
If an organisation is found guilty of fronting its campaigns with baseless environmental claims, it could face dire repercussions and lead to public outcry. ?
What is APP fraud? APP (authorised push payment) fraud occurs when someone is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine payee. There are many ways a fraudster will seek to do this, for example through intercepting emails, posing as a genuine business, sending links to fake websites via email or text message and cold calling. According to UK Finance, APP fraud has, for the first time, surpassed card fraud with GBP 355 million in losses attributed to APP fraud in the first half of 2021.
Guest contributor: Keith Tully, Partner, Real Business Rescue (part of Begbies Traynor Group)
A phishing scam provides a gateway for fraudsters to steal personal data or launch a ransomware attack and involves disguising a manipulated link, email, or text message, which when clicked on by the victim, unlocks the door to a bank of confidential data. Often it is the human firewall that allows the fraudsters in even when your IT security is strong.
This information is then used by the scammer to secure a payday by selling it to a third party or demanding a ransom, such as passwords, credit card details, or intellectual property. Phishing scams are often hidden in plain sight as fraudsters lure in the victim using sophisticated methods, such as company branding, professional language and references to real-life employees.
As phishing fraudsters refine their methods of deception, how are businesses sharpening their spears to catch out cyber scammers and shielding their comms systems against phishing attempts?
Economic crime covers all types of financial crime including fraud, money laundering, counterfeit currency, bribery and corruption. According to recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics, fraud and computer misuse is now greater than all other types of crime put together. Action Fraud reported a 36% rise in fraud offences for the year ending June 2021, compared with the previous year.
The Government’s Economic Crime Plan 2019 to 2022, published in July 2019, described economic crime as a “…significant threat to the security and prosperity of the UK…” impacting “…all of our society including our citizens, private sector businesses and the government.” At that point fraud was one of the most common crimes in the UK and who could have predicted what was to come?
In spite of the Government’s Economic Crime Plan, economic crime continues to be a major and rapidly growing problem in the UK. We take a look at what steps are being taken to tackle economic crime.
In an important decision concerning authorised push payment (“APP”) fraud, the Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment which limited a bank’s Quincecare duty to circumstances where a bank was instructed by an agent of the customer of the bank (effectively limiting the duty to corporate customers). The decision at the time was a disappointment to non-corporate victims of APP fraud for whom it is incredibly difficult to recover their losses. On the other hand, banks breathed a sigh of relief that the potentially onerous Quincecare duty had been restricted in scope.
The Court of Appeal has allowed Mrs Philipps’ appeal against Barclays Bank acknowledging that it is “…at least possible in principle that a relevant duty of care could arise in the case of a customer instructing their bank to make a payment when that customer is the victim of APP fraud.”
The case will now proceed to trial.