Harrogate woman jailed for five-year £150,000 benefits scamKnaresborough businessman denies £200,000 business scam

A man has appeared in court charged with an alleged £200,000 business scam involving covid loans and accounting records.

David Allon, 44, from Knaresborough, appeared at York Magistrates Court yesterday when he pleaded not guilty to nine separate allegations regarding two businesses he was allegedly running between June 2020 and August 2023.

They include two allegations of fraud by false representation in June 2020 in relation to applications for a ‘bounce-back’ covid business loan involving the two named companies he was said to be running, and one count of removing property as a company winds up, between June and December 2020.

He is also charged with failing to comply with the provisions of a piece of legislation regarding the keeping of accounting records between October 2020 and August 2023 and failing to deliver up company books to a liquidator between 2020 and 2023.

Deputy district judge Natalie Wortley told Mr Allon that the allegations were too serious to be dealt with at the magistrates’ court and that the case would be sent to the Crown Court.

Mr Allon, of Arkendale Road, Staveley, will next appear for a plea-and-trial preparation hearing at York Crown Court on June 10. He was granted bail until then.

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Police warn of new scam in Knaresborough

North Yorkshire Police has alerted Knaresborough residents to a new scam that involves impersonating police officers.

The force said in a statement today it had received at least three reports over the last two days about bogus callers.

Someone calls, claiming they are a police officer and asks about a fictitious person in custody. They then ask the resident if they are at home and when they will be out or returning home.

The statement said:

“This is a scam, and police have urged residents to put the phone down, do not engage in conversation with the caller, and do not give any personal information to them.”

Police urged anyone who may have received such a call to call 101 and pass information to the force control room, adding:

“Although we have not received any reports of anyone physically calling at a property, please do be vigilant when it comes to any unexpected callers at your door.

“If you don’t know who it is, don’t answer the door, and keep your doors locked, even when you are at home.”

More information about checking a police officer’s identity can be found here.

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Harrogate blogger devastated after scammers blackmail her

Lucy Playford, who runs the Harrogate Mama blog and social media channels, has been left devastated after scammers tricked their way into her Instagram account and demanded money to hand it back.

Ms Playford provides updates on family life in the town and visits to local businesses to her 6,000 followers on Instagram.

After recently changing social media software, she received an email from what she thought was Meta, the owner of Instagram, asking to verify her account.

The blogger typed in her username and password and was then locked out the next day. This type of crime is known as phishing.

She then received a WhatsApp message from the scammers blackmailing her.

Ms Playford said:

“I was really shocked and upset, I was devastated really. It’s like a theft of anything but it’s a theft of my family’s memories over the last six years.”

After receiving the message she then blocked the number:

“I just thought don’t engage with them, it’s like all hostage takers, don’t negotiate”.

Messages from the scammers

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Ms Playford has reported the crime to North Yorkshire Police and Instagram, but so far has had no success in getting her account back, and she fears it may now be lost forever.

The blogger has set up a new account (instagram.com/HarrogateMamaLucy) where she hopes her old followers will find her.

She said:

“My main following was on Instagram, I like to champion local Harrogate businesses and lots of people followed me for a long time but they have been left wondering where I am. It’s hard”.

Ms Playford has urged social media users to be vigilant against scammers.

“My main advice would be to set up two-factor identification. Also have a password that is not easy to hack.”

Man jailed for scamming two Harrogate district women of life savings

A man has been jailed for scamming two Harrogate district women out of more than £450,000 and their entire life savings.

Police say the women were groomed over several months and have been left “absolutely devastated”.

They were called by a person claiming to be from the police, who said their accounts had been compromised.

He advised them to go to their bank and withdraw all their money in cash, which would then be picked up by a ‘police courier’ for safekeeping.

The two victims, whose names and precise locations are not known, were also told to purchase gold bullion with money from their bank accounts and then the gold was collected by the ‘couriers’ to be kept safe.

Ashley Thompson, 26, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for money laundering and fraud by false representation at the Inner London Crown Court yesterday.

Year-long police investigation

North Yorkshire Police received reports a year ago of victims being targeted by the crime, which is known as courier fraud scam.

Officers from the force’s economic crime unit worked with gold dealers to raise awareness of the crime and put other dealers on notice to watch out for suspicious gold sales.

On November 9, they were alerted to Thompson trying to sell one of the gold bullion bars in a London pawnbroker.

Working with City of London Police, two North Yorkshire Police officers travelled to London to arrest him and he was subsequently charged with fraud and money laundering offences.

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In interview, Thompson claimed he had hired a lock-up storage facility and that he had found the gold bar in a bag of tools but had no idea who owned it. He said he had waited to see if anyone claimed it but when no one did, he decided to try and pawn it for cash.

The investigating officers found that Thompson had created fake documents to prove the lock-up facility existed, when in reality it did not.

Victims ‘groomed’ over months

North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst from the force’s economic crime unit, who led the investigation, said:

“Throughout the trial Thompson denied any knowledge of the gold bar’s origin, sticking to his story that he had simply found it in a bag of tools. He also couldn’t explain why he’d gone to the lengths of faking a hire contract for a non-existent lock-up facility to show the pawnbroker.

“The two victims of this courier fraud were absolutely devastated by it. They were groomed over a period of several months with their trust and good nature callously exploited to the extent that they lost their entire life savings to someone claiming to be a police officer.

“We unfortunately see courier fraud targeting North Yorkshire residents time and time again and I’d like to take this opportunity to issue another warning about it. The fraudsters use incredibly calculated and manipulative tactics to convince their victims that they are legitimate police officers or bank officials and will keep going until they get what they want.

“Remember, the police or your bank will never contact you and ask you to move or transfer money and will definitely never ask you to purchase high value items or to hand over your bank cards. Please be on your guard and share this warning with your friends, family and networks.”

DC Brodhurst added he hoped Thompson’s sentence “will serve as some closure for our victims”.

Thompson, of Margery Street, London, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and was found guilty of money laundering.

He received a 15 month prison sentence for money laundering and a concurrent 6 month sentence for fraud by false representation.

Harrogate hairdresser warns of window cleaner scam

A Harrogate hairdresser wants to raise awareness of a scam after two men claiming to be window cleaners stole her mobile phone.

Linzi Underwood had been working at Harrogate Hair Studio on St Mark’s Avenue for just two weeks when the incident occurred on Monday.

She was with a client just before midday when two men entered and waved around paperwork. She said one of them “came within half a metre of my face” and, unable to speak much English,  just kept shouting “window cleaning, window cleaning”.

Within 30 seconds the pair had distracted Ms Underwood and her client enough to steal her phone and run away.

She described the experience as “intimidating”. She said her client just froze in the chair and with a man shouting in her face Ms Underwood felt powerless to do anything.

She said:

“I’m guessing they watched and waited for my colleague to leave because within two minutes they were in the shop.”

Ms Underwood’s phone contains all her bookings and client details so she is struggling to make new appointments.

She added:

“It would be great to have my phone back but I know that’s unlikely. Now I want to raise awareness. After posting on social media so many people commented saying a similar scam had happened near them.”

Ms Underwood reported the incident to police as soon as it happened and officers visited today to collect CCTV footage.

She said it is clear on CCTV the men make hand gestures in the mirror to indicate they had stolen something.

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Under investigation

North Yorkshire Police has said the “investigation is ongoing”. It said it was aware another Harrogate business was targeted by the scammers on the same day.

A spokesperson said:

“Both incidents are under investigation. If anyone else believes they have also been targeted by the two men, please report it to North Yorkshire Police.

“We urge businesses to be alert to the tactic that uses distraction and intimidation to distract staff while the suspects steal their property.”

To report a crime head to www.northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, if you are threatened, always call 999.

The reference number for this case is 12220061129.

Woman wanted after fraud scam in Harrogate shop

North Yorkshire Police has appealed for information to identify a woman spotted on CCTV in a Harrogate shop after a fraud was committed.

Cash was taken from the One Stop on Crab Lane Harrogate at 10.30am on October 22.

The woman entered the shop and asked for cash to be changed into different notes and coins. The scam known as ‘ringing the change’ involves the scammer asking for various different notes and coins to confuse the cashier into giving them extra money.

Anyone who recognises the woman in the image is asked to contact the police.

If you have information contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Brendon Frith or email Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk. Quote reference number 12210226719.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Police say be vigilant as scammers flag down motorists on A59 for money

North Yorkshire Police has issued a warning after receiving a rising number of reports of scammers attempting to flag down motorists asking for money to fix their car.

The police said it received at least seven reports in the past two days in the Harrogate, Scarborough and Ryedale areas.

The force said suspect’s descriptions range from Asian, Portuguese and Eastern European men driving a silver Volkswagen or a dark-coloured Fiat.

In one incident on the A59 near Harrogate yesterday two men in separate lay-bys were seen trying to flag down motorists. One was described as a smartly dressed Asian man with a silver Passat and the other as European with a dark-coloured Fiat.

Soon after, another man managed to flag down a car on the A61 near Ripley. He was descried as Romanian and was then joined by two other men asking for money after breaking down.

Throughout the evening and into this morning similar reports were received in the Scarborough and Kirbymoorside area.

In one of those incidents the suspect wanted to take motorists to a cash machine to withdraw money and in others children were in the suspect vehicles.

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The police said most motorists realised it was a scam and drove away without giving any money.

The police has urged the public not to give money to anyone on the side of the road and be vigilant against anyone trying to flag down cars.

To report any information, call 101.

Two Harrogate district women lose £500,000 to gold scam

Two women from the Harrogate district have lost a combined £500,000 after scammers persuaded them to buy gold bullion.

The scammers, who claimed to be from the police, told the victims they were monitoring fraudulent activity on their accounts.

The women were told they must work with the police to catch the fraudsters and, as part of this, were advised to move money out of their bank accounts and buy gold bullion instead.

The bullion, which is another term for gold bars, was then collected by a fake courier who promised to keep it safe until the police investigation had concluded.

North Yorkshire Police, which was alerted to the scam last week, said these type of scam stories have become “very common” recently.

Andy Fox, the force’s financial abuse safeguarding officer, said:

“You can sit and think ‘why would they hand over all that money?’ but the scammers are very good at what they do. They pretended to be police so the victims trusted them, you could call it brainwashing.

“I have spoken to the victims and they are very upset. We just have to keep giving advice to ensure these scammers can’t continue.”

Mr Fox said the police were alerted to the crimes when the victims got in touch to ask for the officer they had been speaking to. Once the pair ran out of money the perpetrator stopped calling.

Mr Fox said a detective was investigating various leads associated with the case.

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Fraud victims don’t get their money back unless the bank reimburses it or the police find the culprit and use their assets to pay back victims.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“Please remember, the police or your bank will NEVER contact you and ask you to move or transfer money. We will never ask you to lie to your bank or your family and we will certainly never ask you to purchase gold bullion.

“If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately. If you are ever worried about any calls you receive speak to a family member, friend, your bank or ring the police.”

If you think you have been a victim of fraud call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Fake police officer targets North Yorkshire with credit card scam

Scammers pretending to be police officers are targeting local residents for money.

North Yorkshire Police said today it had received reports from people who had been called by a man claiming to be a police officer.

The bogus officer told the people they called that one of their relatives was in police custody and that this person was in possession of their bank and credit cards.

The victims were then asked to immediately call their bank or the police on 911 to verify this was genuine, using the same phone and without waiting for a dial tone.

Fake officer names have included Detective Matthews, DI Stevens and DC Winston.

Six cases have been reported to the police and so far none have resulted in a loss of money.

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Police are urging people to hang up if they’re suspicious and to use a different line if they need to call the police or bank.

They added that officers and banks would never contact people to move or transfer money.

Last year North Yorkshire Police financial abuse safeguarding officer, Andy Fox, released the following statement about a similar scam:

“Everyone believes they won’t fall victim to a scammer but these individuals are experienced professionals who know every trick in the book to gain your trust.

“A police officer will never get in touch and advise you to move, transfer or pay money and neither will a bank or building society. If you receive a call out of the blue offering money or security advice, be very suspicious and do not give the caller any personal or account details.

The police have encouraged anyone caught out by this scam to report it to the force on 101.