London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

UK: Bank-funded police arrest 122 fraudsters

UK: Bank-funded police arrest 122 fraudsters

A specialist policing unit funded by banks arrested 122 fraudsters last year amid a huge rise in money launderers using members of the public as so-called “money mules”.
The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) recovered 18,175 credit card numbers and seized £2.6 million of assets in 2020 by targeting organised criminal gangs responsible for the vast amount of fraud in the UK. The total was £1 million more than had been seized the previous year.

Last year the unit’s investigations led to 54 criminals being jailed for fraud, figures handed to The Times reveal.

Police said that the most prevalent scams had accelerated since the pandemic as fraudsters took advantage of more people being at home and online.

Fraudsters tried to scam millions of pounds out of the public by offering to sell Covid-19 vaccines, fake investment schemes, romance scams and parcel delivery frauds.

More than 700 social media accounts linked to fraudulent activity were taken down. Some 250 of these were money mule recruiters — a form of money laundering whereby criminals offer members of the public commission if they agree to have cash transferred through their bank accounts. If the person facilitating the transfer does so knowingly it is criminal, but many do it unwittingly, believing it is an investment.

The specialist fraud unit is investigating more than 150 live cases, including dozens of scams relating to the coronavirus vaccine.

Two cases are due for trial in the coming weeks involving defendants accused of sending fake texts pretending to be from the NHS, which claimed that the recipient was eligible to receive a coronavirus jab in an attempt to steal their data and bank details.

The DCPCU is formed of officers from the City of London police and Metropolitan Police and support staff from UK Finance, the trade association for the banking and financial industry. It says that its officers prevented almost £20 million of fraud last year.

Police say the most prevalent scams involve con artists using the Covid-19 vaccine as bait, offering to sell jabs and sending text messages, emails and cold calling elderly and vulnerable people to harvest personal and financial information.

Criminal gangs have also flooded social media advertising fake investment opportunities and encouraging members of the public to “take advantage of the financial downturn”. Bitcoin platforms are using emails and adverts on social media sites to encourage unsuspecting victims to put money into fraudulent investment companies using fake websites.

Romance scams have also been rife during the pandemic with more people logging on to dating apps and websites. Criminals exploit them to dupe people into sending money, convincing them they are in genuine relationships and claiming they need money for emergency medical care and transport costs.

There has also been a surge in parcel delivery scams whereby fraudsters pose as delivery companies, sending out phishing emails claiming to be from well-known courier companies that claim they have been unable to deliver parcels and asking victims to pay a fee to rearrange delivery.

In March last year eight criminals who scammed businesses, councils and charities out of £750,000 were jailed for a total of 24 years. At Inner London crown court the ringleader, Patson Mupinyuri, then 37, of Northampton, was jailed for six years. He would target an organisation, gather its banking information, then pass the details to two associates who would produce counterfeit cheques. They would give them to five others who presented them at bank branches across the country.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×