JFCU Presentation - SCAMS DS Jeremy PHILLIPS Joint Financial Crimes Unit
AIM To raise awareness of scams currently targeting Jersey. OBJECTIVE • To learn what to do if you receive a scam • To learn how to protect yourself • To help others who may be a victim of a scam
A – Z of fraud A • Abuse of position of trust • Accommodation addresses • Accommodation fraud • Account takeover • Advance fee fraud • Anti-competitive behaviour • Application fraud • Asset misappropriation fraud • Auction fraud
A – Z of fraud W • Website domain name scams • West African letter fraud • Work from home scams
Marketing and advertising: the law in the UK Direct marketing You must check if customers want to be contacted by fax, phone, post or email, and give them the chance to object. When you collect customer details, you must get their permission if you want to send them other offers or promotions. You must also ask for their permission if you want to share their information with another organisation.
MASS MARKETING FRAUD Mass marketing fraud is when you receive an uninvited contact by email, letter, phone or adverts, making false promises to con you out of money. Mass marketing fraudsters try to lure victims with false promises of large cash prizes, goods or services in exchange for upfront fees, or what they call taxes or donations. Mass marketing scams are also known as consumer frauds. They could involve: • Someone pretending to sell something they don ’ t have. The fraudster takes your money without giving anything in return for it. • A fraudster supplying goods or services which are of a lower quality than those paid for, or failing to supply the goods and service bought altogether. • Someone trying to persuade you to buy something you don ’ t really want using oppressive marketing or sales techniques. Common mass-marketing scams include: • Foreign lotteries and sweepstakes • 419 letter scams • Charity scams • Romance scams • Boiler room or share sale fraud
Christakis PHILIPPOU Summary Between 2004 and 2006, Philippou was involved in conspiracies where he and his co-defendants repeatedly set out to acquire, or sometimes to set up from scratch, travel agency businesses which were used as vehicles for fraud. The travel agencies attracted customers by offering cut- price holidays. The prices were so low that legitimate companies could not compete with them. In each case, the travel agency ceased to trade, leaving customers without a holiday. This scam defrauded an estimated 20,000 people.
High rolling fraudster conned thousands out of vulnerable victims A fraudster who used the cash he conned out of his victims to fund a lifestyle of champagne, luxury apartments and fast cars has been given a seven year prison sentence. Godwin Nwaofor, 36, was part of an organised crime group responsible for extracting sums worth millions of pounds from individuals. One method of fraud involved sending fake letters or emails advising people they had won the Australian lottery and instructing them to call a lottery agent – who would be Nwaofor using an alias. They were told they needed to pay fees and taxes before they could receive a large cash prize. Others would be conned into opening new bank accounts, paying in cheques sent by Nwaofor, while at the same time transferring the same sum out. When the cheques were subsequently found to be false and bounced, the victims would be left indebted to the bank.
Think Jessica – www.thinkjessica.com Protecting elderly & vulnerable people from scams which come through the postal system and criminals who contact them by telephone. The National Trading Standards Scams team estimate postal scams could be netting criminals worldwide up to £10 billion a year Criminals worldwide are hunting down the most fragile members of our society by “ working ” from mailing lists which categorise people as being elderly or vulnerable in some way. Everyone is at risk but those listed as living alone, not having the internet or any way of being educated about scams or how to report them are their preferred targets. They contact them by letter and phone call and try to trick them into parting with cash. Those who respond end up have their details put on what criminals call “ suckers lists ” . They sell these lists to other scammers all over the world. This can result in victims being delivered 100+ scam letters a day and plagued by international phone calls. Millions of victims have a condition which Think Jessica is trying to get recognised as Jessica Scam Syndrome (JSS) People with JSS have been “ brainwashed ” by criminals who are having an easy and assisted passage into their homes, minds and bank accounts.
KEY MESSAGE Do not respond!
Protecting your Address – Scam mail is Blackmail – PO BOX 500 If you start to receive post for someone you don ’ t know, find out why. Re-direct your mail when moving home. Sign up to the Mail Preference Service (MPS) to prevent marketing letters. Protect mail left in communal areas of residential properties
• Protecting your bank accounts Be extremely wary of unsolicited phone calls, letter or emails from your bank or other financial institutions, asking you to confirm your personal details, passwords and security number. Regularly check your accounts and chase up any statements and that are not delivered when expected. Dispose of anything containing your personal or banking details by using a cross-cut shredder or tearing it up in to small pieces. Always sign up to American Express SafeKey, MasterCard SecureCode or Verified by Visaw when you receive your cards, even if you do not intend to use your cards online. This helps to protect you if your card or details are lost or stolen. If you think someone is misusing your bank account details then report it to your bank.
• Protecting your phone Never reply to unsolicited texts, for example, texts referring to accident claims, even to try and get them stopped. Simply delete them. Sign up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to prevent marketing phone calls. (Add TPS weblink) If using a ‘ smart ’ phone install anti-virus software on it.
• Protecting your computer – Scams500@police.je • Keep your computer security programs such as antivirus and firewall, up to date. Also make sure your web browser and operating system are the latest version. If you are unsure about how to do this, contact a computer specialist. • Be wary of opening links on unsolicited emails you receive. They may contain viruses or other programs that may harm your computer. • Know how to verify secure websites if making financial transactions. You can do this by looking at thee address line. Normally it will start with http but when you log in to a secure site this will change to https, for example: http//www.mybank.com is web address for mybank, but if you want to go to the transaction page you log in and the address bar may also change colour. A padlock will also appear in either the bottom left or bottom right of your browser bar, not on the website. • If you have received an email claiming to be from your bank, asking that your contact them, think about whether or not this is genuine. If you are unsure do not click on any links in the email. Open another window in your browser and visit your bank ’ s website using your normal method. • Check the online security options your bank provides, some offer free anti- virus and browser security software. eMPS
Questions? Detective Sergeant Jeremy Phillips j.phillips@jersey.pnn.police.uk (01534) 612960 www.jersey.police.uk
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