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DOG THEFT AT DOGS TRUST MERSEYSIDE
RESCUE dog Lennox, stolen just hours before he was due to be rehomed. Dogs Trust staff were shocked to discover that there had been a break in during the night when they entered the Rehoming Centre on Friday 24 June. The Centre is home to over 100 dogs and the staff’s worst fears were realised when they found that Lennox, a lovely Staffordshire Bull Terrier had been stolen from his kennel. Lennox is a good-natured little dog who had found a new home and was due to join his loving new family this weekend.
Richard Moore, Dogs Trust Merseyside Manager, explains:- “What kind of person would break into and steal from a charity? These dogs have been through so much already and the Rehoming Centre provides a safe haven for the animals awaiting their new lives with caring families. We are very concerned for the safety and welfare of Lennox and are appealing for anyone who may have any information to come forward as soon as
possible”.
Thieves broke into the centre through the garden fence of a neighbouring house, forcing the kennel open and stealing Lennox before cutting a hole in the perimeter fence and making their escape into the local park.
Lennox is an 18-month-old golden Staffordshire Bull Terrier. If you can provide any information on his whereabouts or know someone who may please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the Crime Management Unit at Huyton Police Station on 0151 777 6286.
Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 12,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year through its network of 15 Rehoming Centres nationwide.
1 IN 3 RISKS FRAUD BY WRITING DOWN PIN NUMBERS
FOLLOWING the introduction of Chip & PIN, new research from cardextras.com suggests that 32% of cardholders, thats some 13.6 million people, are risking becoming victims of fraud by writing down their PIN numbers. Of these 13.6 million people, 27% (3.6 million) have admit to taking absolutely no steps to disguise their PIN numbers when writing them down.
The gradual introduction of Chip & PIN, which started earlier this year, has led to an increase in the number of PINs people have to remember. Indeed, according to cardextras.com 40% of cardholders have been unable to recall their PIN at an ATM or point of sale. The need to remember more PIN numbers is not only putting people at risk of fraud, but is also influencing which cards people are using, with 7.8 million people 18% saying they tend to favour 1 card over others because of the need to remember their PIN.
One method of remembering a PIN more easily is to change the number to a more memorable one. However, additional research has shown that only 30% of those who have been issued with Chip & PIN enabled cards have actually changed their number.
In response to the problem of remembering multiple PINs, cardextras.com has launched PINcard, a simple credit card sized device offering individuals an easy, secure and convenient method of recalling up to 12 different PIN numbers and other codes. It fits neatly into a wallet and is easy to use, employing a series of grids and only requiring the cardholder to memorize one simple 2-character code.
Christine Lawton of cardextras.com, comments:- “The introduction of Chip & PIN is a welcome measure in the fight to reduce fraud. However, as cardholders struggle to remember a variety of different PIN numbers, there is a danger of an increase in the risk of fraud as people write down their PIN numbers without disguising them. PINcard has proved highly popular among consumers of all ages in tests, and we believe that in this new era of multiple PINs, many people will find PINcard
extremely useful.”
But one problem still has yet to be addressed, some card users have as of yet not got the correct PIN numbers issued to them and others still do not have PIN activated cards. Also since the inroduction of Chip & PIN, card fraud has increesed, making the industry ask, was this worth it?
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Fraudulent claims are
growing
NEW research shows fraudulent insurance claims are a growing issue for local authorities but members of the public won’t help. Local authorities feel they are facing an increase in fraudulent insurance claims according to new research released today by Zurich Municipal, the UK’s leading provider of insurance and risk management to the public sector. The research into insurance fraud against local authorities reveals fraudulent claims are already an issue for 63% of local authorities. A quarter believing more than 20% of their claims to be fraudulent and 38% of local authorities expect the problem to grow.
Responses from 118 local authorities reveal that a quarter say fraudulent claims are having a significant impact on resources. This diverts funding away from vital front line services, which means that whole communities are suffering as a result. However, a public poll on insurance fraud issues found that a significant proportion of the general public do not see a direct link between fraudulent claims and the quality of their local services. When asked who they think pays out for successful insurance claims, 35% of people believe claims costs are met by the council’s insurance rather than from their own pockets through council tax or diminished local services.
When it comes to dealing with insurance fraud, both local authorities and the general public are unanimous and feel that fraudsters should be dealt with by the police, followed by punishments of recovery of costs and financial blacklisting. However, despite their view that tough penalties should be imposed many of the general public would not help to stop fraudulent claims themselves with 34% saying they would do nothing at all. Only 16% of adults questioned said that they would contact the police if they knew someone has submitted a fraudulent claim against a council. A similar number of people 17% would be willing to call a fraud hotline or contact the council 18%.
A number of measures are being taken by local authorities to combat fraud. Intelligence sharing is the biggest action being taken 47% followed by telephone fraud lines 26%, publicising investigations 25%, and identity checks 20%. However, 15% of local authorities have no procedures in place at all.
Knowsley Metropolitan Council saw its claims from slips and trips soar with the potential to cost the Council up to £5m annually.
Cllr Norman Keats, Cabinet Member for Finance and Information Society Technologies, said:-
“At Knowsley we have made a conscious decision to make sure we are not regarded as a ‘soft touch’ for fraudsters. Working in partnership with our insurers and Merseyside Police we thoroughly investigate every application for compensation, and, while we recognise our responsibility to compensate genuine claimants, we are not prepared to pay out for false or invented
claims.
One bogus claim resulted recently in a four month prison term for a claimant.”
38% local authorities said they didn’t need any further help to combat insurance fraud. For those who said they do require further help, their needs are: advice on spotting potential fraud, access to a fraud and repeat claims database, investigation rather than settling, and greater sharing of information between local authorities.
Steve Jackson, National Fraud Controller at Zurich Municipal comments:- “Clearly fraudulent claims continue to be a big issue. There’s a job to be done to educate some members of the public about the direct impact fraud can have on them in order to engage their help to prevent it. Equally while the majority of local authorities are working very hard to tackle the problem in their area, some admit they still have some way to go to put adequate risk management measures in place.”
Steve will be speaking on the subject of combating local authority fraud at 2 Zurich Municipal seminars during July at the ALARM and LGA conferences, entitled ‘Fighting fraud:- stemming the drain on funding for frontline
services’. Zurich Municipal, working alongside other organisations including the Local Government Association, ALARM, and the Department for Conditional Affairs, has been investigating the perception of fraud within the public services.
The seminars will look at the results of their findings and examine ways of preventing fraud.
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