Angela Ferguson BBC News, Chester Cheshire Police Photos on Instagram showed Watkin posing with designer handbags A “charismatic and persuasive” conman who promised his victims high returns on investments in high-end Hermes handbags but instead spent their money on a “glamorous and luxurious lifestyle” has admitted fraud. Jack Watkin, who appeared in Channel 4’s Rich...
Kevin Peachey Cost of living correspondent Getty Images Students are being urged not to suffer in silence when targeted by scams on dating apps, as investigators see blackmail cases rise. Fraud teams at Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, said trusted friends could help potential victims avoid sending private or intimate images during new online...
Getty Images Bill Pallot was considered the top scholar of French 18th Century chairs Two French antiques experts have been convicted of forging historic chairs that they claimed had once belonged to French royals such as Marie Antoinette. Georges “Bill” Pallot and Bruno Desnoues were given four months behind bars as well as longer suspended...
Businesses in Exeter are being urged to be on guard against a scam after an off-licence was conned out of money. The off-licence was telephoned by an individual claiming to be from Exeter City Council. Unfortunately the individual making the call was a scammer. The business was told that their premises licence for selling alcohol...
Devon and Cornwall Police (L-R) Mark Baker, Matthew Heyward, Timothy Patterson and Richard King were jailed Six people have been sentenced for their roles in a £1.7m construction scam in which staff hired by an energy firm accepted bribes in the form of cash, dodgy references and gifts including a Range Rover and an air...
Government minister Lucy Powell’s X account has been hacked to promote a scam “House of Commons” cryptocurrency. A string of now deleted posts on the House of Commons leader’s account described the “$HCC” coin as “a community-driven digital currency bringing people’s power to the blockchain”. The MP’s office confirmed her account was hacked on Tuesday...
Food businesses in Exeter are being warned to be on their guard against a scam. A food business operator in the city had their email account hacked after they were contacted by an individual pretending to be from Exeter City Council. The City Council has warned food businesses to contact its environmental health support team...