The novels of Charles Dickens are replete with dodgy characters. So what has changed in 150 years? Not that much. Norwich Union report that the cost of fraud to the nation rose to nearly £16bn last year, or £650 per household. The BBC story gives an example of the inventive nature of these latter day rogues:
The link between fraud and organised crime is revealed by the example of a drugs gang in a big English city. The criminals have contrived hundreds of car accidents in which they lured members of the public to crash into the gang's cars.
"The scale of this operation is enormous," Chris Hill said. "This gang had induced more than 400 accidents in the course of a year.
Meanwhile The Register reports the UK 'full of fraudsters', with nearly half of people quizzed in a survey admitting to forgery and one in ten to low level identity fraud.
A quarter of 1,000 Britons polled in a survey by document and identity verification firm TSSI confessed to exaggerating their educational qualifications to gain employment. One in ten of those quizzed by TSSI admitted they had misused ID or access control systems by impersonating someone else or had assisted someone else to do so, while a third (32 per cent) admitted conning their way past security personnel. One in five (21 per cent) owned up to having used fake identity cards.
"Identity fraud is now a major risk to consumers, yet our study shows that low level identity abuse and fraud is commonplace to the extent that it is almost becoming socially acceptable," said Danny Chapchal, TSSI's executive chairman.
Nearly half (45 per cent) of Brits polled in the survey admitted to some kind of forgery. ID cards were by far the most popular item, with 18 per cent admitting to forging these. Other items included doctors notes (five per cent); fake letters on company letterhead (four per cent); reference letters (four per cent); travel tickets (two per cent); concert tickets (one per cent); and tickets for sporting events (one per cent).
Just over one in ten people (12 per cent) owned up to impersonating someone else over email. Seven per cent confessed to assuming another person’s identity through forging their signature on letters or cheques. Meanwhile one in seven (14 per cent) confessed to spying on people entering PINs, pass codes and passwords.
A nation of swindlers, con artists, fraudsters and charlatans? You bet. Dickens was right.
The Register points out, as I should, that TSSI's Dishonest Britain report (which can be downloaded here) is self interested.
TSSI has a vested interest here, of course, in talking up the scope of the very dishonesty among the general public its technology is designed to addresses. Nonetheless we can't help but be impressed by the ability of its researchers to elicit admissions from random punters in train stations that might (were they not anonymous) result in an extended stay at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Other items included doctors notes (five per cent); fake letters on company letterhead (four per cent); reference letters (four per cent); travel tickets (two per cent); concert tickets (one per cent); and tickets for sporting events (one per cent).
Posted by: jordan retro shoes | Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 07:01 AM
I adore your blog because I never know what I am getting into when I open a new post. You do a great Job, Quality content always have a dash of personal life. Keep up the great blogging and! Good luck with your new project--I hope everything works out for you! Happy 2011 :).
Posted by: Handwriting expert | Friday, April 08, 2011 at 01:13 PM
That an interesting post. I never thought about this before. But, looking back at different situations, this might be right. Keep it up friend!
Posted by: Limousine service in long island | Friday, April 08, 2011 at 01:15 PM
Identity fraud is now a major risk to consumers, yet our study shows that low level identity abuse and fraud is commonplace to the extent that it is almost becoming socially acceptable.
Posted by: Phallosan | Monday, April 11, 2011 at 08:44 AM
"I have been reading your posts regularly. I need to say that you are doing a fantastic job. Please keep up the great work."
Posted by: Handwriting analysis | Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 03:12 PM
That's life in the big city, which is why I prefer the country!
Posted by: nursing scrubs | Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 02:03 AM
Limo in long island will always help if you need to get to a particular area of the city. Provide special transportation services. Limo is your reliable source for luxury ground transportation.
Posted by: Limo In Long Island | Friday, June 10, 2011 at 08:43 AM