As Tax Returns are handed in this week, scammers have targeted those people filling out their returns through a massive fraud email scam. The emails warn recipients that they need to fill out their tax return shortly and are then sent to a website where they are a tricked into entering a vast amount of personal information; including credit card and bank details.

So far victims have had their accounts entirely emptied of cash or had their credit card limits maxed out and the details of such cards and people will then likely be sold on to other criminal gangs. It was revealed two years ago that these data could be sold on the black market for as little as 50p per person.

Revenue & Customs, the government department that controls tax returns has warned all customers not to respond to any emails about tax returns and has informed customers that it will only contact them regarding their tax returns via regular post:

“We never use e-mails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances. We strongly urge anyone receiving such an e-mail to send it to us for investigation before deleting it.”

The department estimated that the numbers of phishing emails sent out in just the last few weeks could be well over 20,000. Scammers in the UK and abroad in countries like Austria and Mexico were shut down last year, but many scammers are very difficult to bring to justice due to difficulty in tracing people online on an international basis.

Just under 6 million people in the UK file tax returns every year, primarily used for the self employed or those who receive money from many different sources rather than a single job. Consumers filling their returns after the end of January could face a ?100 fine.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

It has been reported that insurance fraud is costing £2 billion a year to be lost in the UK.

The Annual Fraud Indicator published by the National Fraud Authority reports, the total national fraud bill is £30 billion a year.

Steve Foulsham, technical services manager at the British Insurance Broker’s Association, in commenting on the report, said a more joined-up approach is required to tackle fraud.

“Where we come from, in the broking sector, we would like to see more communication between the broking community and the insurers,” he stated. He added combating the situation requires co-operative action across parties.
“If an insurer suspects fraud, the broker will know the client better, because they are closer – and can disclose this to the insurer to make sure that the outcome is the right one,” he added.

Nick Starling, the Association of British Insurer’s director of general insurance, said dishonest insurance claims alone cost around £2 billion a year, which adds on average an extra £44 a year to every household’s general budget.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Many businesses are now encouraging their employees to use their own vehicles, but are not advising them about taking out business insurance on their cars.

If you are driving your own vehicle for business purposes, you are at risk of driving uninsured, according to Gocompare.com.

Research by Gocompare.com, the price comparison site, found that 72 per cent of people have used their cars for work purposes in the last year, although only 35 per cent knew they were supposed to have insurance coverage specifically for using their cars for business.

The owner of the vehicle may be left to pay the bill for any repair work if a car is not insured for damage sustained when being driven for business reasons.

Business development director of Gocompare.com, Lee Griffin, said: “Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that, irrespective of its owner, vehicles used on company business are safe to use – this includes being fully insured for business usage.”

Insurance costs are also hitting young motorists, with £5,371 being the average sum needed to get an individual on the road, the price comparison site reported recently.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

If last year was a stressful time for you, consider the people who are now making their very first steps in the New Year – straight to the divorce court.

As Christmas draws to a close the stress for many couples proves too much and becomes the final straw for many relationships. Equally, couples who have promised each other to stay together for their children at Christmas are quick to start divorce proceedings as soon as it’s all over, leading January to be a busy month for divorce lawyers and dating websites.

However, this January the rise in divorces is expected to be higher than usual as analysts suspect that many couples have been waiting until a better economic climate before taking the final steps in financial settlements over their divorce.

Although many of these divorces began proceedings months earlier, estimates suggest that just under half may have been waiting until the economy improves before taking the last few steps in the hope of increasing their assets.

Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, Karen Barrett said:

“Getting a divorce can be a stressful enough process without also waiting to reach a financial settlement for a prolonged period of time. A family solicitor will help you through the divorce process.”

Debt levels have dropped slightly in 2009 as many consumers begin to pay off their debt while others find it harder to get credit in the first place. House prices have also risen for the eighth consecutive month, so many couples obviously felt like now was the right time to finally settle.

Could you hold on a divorce in the hope of reaching a better financial settlement or would you just want it over as quickly as possible?

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The number of claims for stolen cars has increased over this holiday period, according to the AA.

Claims received by the insurance provider are up 40 per cent due to the bad weather, so far this winter.

Many drivers who had to abandon their cars in the snow are finding they have been damaged or broken into.

Motorists are also warned that thieves often wait for a person to turn on their car engine and then leave the car unattended, in order to steal the vehicle, especially expensive vehicles.

Cars that have been left with their keys in the ignition by the driver are not covered by insurance policies.

The AA has already reported a large increase in the number of claims due to the bad weather, with December 21st seeing over 500 claims, almost twice the average figure for a Monday in winter.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Consumer groups are asking for banks to change the way the handle card fraud when a customer’s pin is used after their wallet or purse has been stolen.

While banks usually reimburse fraud victims unless the customer was trying to commit fraud themselves, some banks are starting to turn down claims, saying that customers must have left a copy of the Pin in their wallet with their card.

The banking industry believes that Chip and Pin is secure, so secure in fact that if anyone breaks into your account it must have been because you acted without due care.

In cases where money has been taken from an account but not proof can be reasonably found that the customer acted negligibly, the customer is still only liable for the first £50, according to the banking code.

The UK Payments Administration agrees that bank members must abide with the code:

“The bank or card company must be able to demonstrate that the customer has either been negligent with their cards details, or that they are a knowing party to the fraud, before turning down a customer’s fraud claim.”

Cathy Neal from consumer organisation Which? also agrees that the system has some serious flaws:

“There are just too many cases like this for it to be people actually being careless. If people are saying they haven’t been careless, you have to call into question the kind of proof that they’re using.”

Chip and Pin security experts believe that there are a number of ways a fraudster could gain access to a customer’s PIN that don?t involve the customer simply writing it down and leaving it in their wallet. This includes lax security at banks and machines attached to ATMs.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Tens of millions of people have already started doing their Christmas shopping and a large portion of those will be looking to the internet to find the best deals, good prices and fast delivery times. Shopping online can take the stress out of finding gifts during the Christmas period, there’s no queues, no last minute rush and less temptation to buy things you don’t really need just because you happen to walk past them.

However, Christmas shoppers have been targeted by online scammers in recent years offering fake designer brands that were either supplying customers with inferior products or more often not giving them any products at all.

The fraudsters themselves were hiding out in Asia but had registered many different domain names in Britain to sell fake designer clothing and jewelery. A recent police operation has lead to the closure of 1,219 of these scam websites offering everything from fake Ugg boots to Tiffany jewelery and GHD hair strengtheners at suspiciously discount prices.

However, despite the shutdowns which were co-ordinated with online name registration service, Nominet, not a single arrest has been made due to fraudulent details being used to set up the sites initially.

Head of the Police Central E-crime unit, Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie said:

“Fraudsters target the victim’s desire to buy designer goods at reduced prices, particularly at this time of year. The risk begins when your desire to purchase blinds your judgment or leads you to illegal websites. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”

The location of the gangs in Asia made it incredibly difficult for consumers to complain about bad quality, counterfeit or non received items and have also made it difficult for the police to make arrests.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.