More than five months ago, in the wake of a harrowing article I had written about a young woman who was robbed of £100,000 in an online Bitcoin fraud, I made an impassioned plea to the Government: do more to ensure social media providers – the likes of Google and Facebook – wash their platforms clean of fraudsters .
At the time it appeared the Government was in listening mode with Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledging that online financial fraud was becoming an increasing concern of Government and I think of people across the country . Think? Know, more like.
Yet, sadly, Johnson has since failed to act on these words, resulting in a locust-like plague of financial fraudsters currently hovering over the UK intent on emptying our bank accounts of our lifetime savings.
Fraud victim Catriona Oliphant is one of the lucky ones. Through steely determination – and help from The Mail on Sunday – she recently managed to get her bank to reimburse £239,000 scammed from her account.
But Catriona, a highly-regarded lawyer, was not content. Outraged by the complacency shown by Action Fraud – a national hub for reporting fraud – over investigating her case she vowed to take matters into her own hands. Last week, she decided to track down the scammers with The Mail on Sunday alongside her.
Although Catriona was thwarted at the last moment by a desperate plea from Action Fraud not to interfere in an ongoing investigation – a request we felt we could not ignore – the ease with which we tracked down those involved in the scam raises serious questions over Action Fraud s willingness and ability to tackle the rising tide of financial crime.
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: More than a thousand people are being scammed every day. Victims are old and young and come from all walks of life - doctors, dentists, lawyers, shop workers and teachers.
Why can t Action Fraud identify those involved in scams? dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
But for a brief window every year, shareholders are given the tools to gain control. Over the next few weeks, most UK-listed companies will be holding their AGMs and an annual vote.