Fraudsters use Covid lockdown to scam motorhome buyers
The Guardian, 04/05/2020
Fraudsters are flooding online auction sites with thousands of fake listings for campervans and motorhomes, using the lockdown to trick people into handing over cash for vehicles they have not seen. An investigator behind an anti-fraud group set up to try to stop the criminal gangs that target vehicle buyers told the Guardian he has never seen so many fraudulent vehicle listings appear on eBay and other sites in such a short space of time. Fraudsters use fake listings copied from legitimate adverts to attract buyers, then tell them that they will deliver the vehicle if they put the money into a holding account.
Pensioner ‘scammed into leaving bank card on doorstep’
BBC News, 04/05/2020
Fraudsters stole from a pensioner’s bank account after persuading him to leave a card and PIN on his doorstep due to the lockdown, a court has heard. Police claimed he was targeted along with another 70 elderly people in a scam involving callers posing as detectives probing bogus crimes. John Ward from Belfast, appeared in court on charges connected to the investigation. He is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and blackmail. It is alleged that, along with others, Mr Ward pretended to be from the police fraud squad when contacting an 82-year-old man in south Belfast last month. The court heard that within an hour of the pensioner being contacted, he had left bank cards and details on his doorstep, to comply with social distancing because of the Covid-19 crisis.
Mr Nigel Sutton 8517
Cyber Protect Officer
Serious & Organised Crime (Intelligence and Specialist Crime Department)
