Highland Hospice loses £500k to ‘vishing and spoofing fraud’

Highlands and Islands Police are investigating a number of incidents in which fraudsters posed as bank representatives to make victims hand over financial information

A Scottish hospice has lost approximately £500,000 to a cyber crime, police have confirmed.

Highland Hospice lost the money in a “vishing and spoofing fraud”, the Highland and Islands Police Division said in a statement.

Vishing is where a fraudster makes a telephone call posing as a bank representative to persuade the victim to hand over financial information.

The police statement said the hospice was one of a number of victims in the Highlands and the fraudsters had stolen a total of £2.5m between 19 July and 30 July from businesses in the region.

The police said they were aware of other attempts to defraud hospices in recent weeks, but they had not established if these cases were linked.

Last month, Bury Hospice lost £235,000 in an “elaborate” fraud involving an online virus check, and said other charities in Greater Manchester had been targeted in a similar way.

Bolton Hospice also narrowly avoided a “sophisticated fraud” last month that involved contacting a major supplier and having the hospice’s bank’s phone number appear on the caller display.

Kenny Steele, chief executive of Highland Hospice, said: “Although this is a horrendous situation, it will not have an immediate impact on operations. There is resilience built into the hospice financial systems to cope with these types of risk to ensure that our top priority of patient and family care and wellbeing is protected.

“We have put in additional security measures and are working with the police and banking authorities to work on recovery of the funds and track the perpetrators. We also hope that releasing this information will help to protect other businesses in the area.”

Detective Inspector Iain McPhail, from the Economic Crime and Financial Investigation Unit at Police Scotland, said the force was carrying out a thorough investigation of the incident.

He said some of the money had been recovered and police were working to recover the rest of the stolen funds.

“I would again urge people to be on their guard against unsolicited calls from someone claiming to be from their bank,” he said.

“Always double-check numbers you’re given to call back to or call through the main customer care number for the organisation and ask to be put through.

“If you decide to ring back and verify the call, it is advisable to do so on a different phone line, such as another landline or your mobile. If you are still unsure, consider visiting your local branch instead of speaking to someone over the phone.”

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Charity has paid £500k to the Official Custodian for Charities

The Jewish charity the Reb Moishe Foundation has been the subject of a Charity Commission probe, and is appealing two orders to hand funds to the custodian

A Jewish poverty and education charity that is appealing against two Charity Commission orders to hand over funds has so far paid £500,000 to the Official Custodian for Charities, the custodian’s accounts for the 2016/17 financial year show.

The document shows that £500,000 from the Reb Moishe Foundation has been safeguarded since 5 July 2016 by the custodian, a holding service that protects disputed charitable property.

It is the first time the amount of funds received by the custodian from the charity has been disclosed.

The amount received by the custodian is only a partial settlement of the amount requested by the Charity Commission.

The charity’s sole trustee has appealed to the charity tribunal against two orders to hand over funds to the custodian as part of the regulator’s statutory inquiry into the charity.

Since 2015, the Reb Moishe Foundation has been the subject of a Charity Commission investigation of a £2m loan the charity made in 2006 to a company called Gladstar.

The charity’s sole trustee, Jacob Plitnick, is the director of Gladstar. The commission was alerted to the loan in late 2014 by HM Revenue & Customs.

Plitnick was ordered by the commission to hand the funds over, but made only a partial payment, according to the regulator. A further order was made on 21 July 2016. Both orders are being appealed by Plitnick at the charity tribunal.

The Charity Commission’s inquiry into the charity is continuing, and the inquiry is also looking at other issues associated with the charity’s relationship with Gladstar, such as reductions in the interest payable on the loan and the fact that Gladstar was running at a significant deficit.

The charity’s accounts for 2013 – the latest accounts at the time the investigation was opened – showed it was owed more than £2.3m by Gladstar.

The amount owed by Gladstar to the charity rose to £2.6m by the end of 2015, according to the charity’s accounts for that year, with an interest rate of 10 per cent a year.

In contrast, the charity had an income of £213,307 in 2013 and spent £49,180. Its 2015 accounts showed the charity had an income of £181,443 and spent £75,662.

A further directions hearing about Plitnick’s appeal against the order to hand over further funds to the custodian will be heard later this month.

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Partnerships round-up: Waitrose gives £500k to Marine Conservation Society

Plus: Bethany Christian Trust in new alliance; Book Trust links up with four partners; and Chestertons golf day raises £3,000-plus for St Mungo’s

The supermarket chain Waitrose is donating £500,000 from its carrier bag fund to the Marine Conservation Society to help organise 1,000 beach and river clean-up events in 2017 and 2018. The events are expected to involve thousands of volunteers, who will remove rubbish from beaches and rivers. Many of the plastics removed will be sorted and recycled, which the company said was a first. The initial event will take place from 15 September until 18 September.

The Scottish homelessness charity the Bethany Christian Trust has been chosen as the official charity partner for the family-run Craigie’s farm and restaurant, based in Edinburgh. The company will raise money for and awareness of the charity by involving it in events held at the farm and restaurant.

The Book Trust has entered into a four-way partnership with the retailer Sainsbury’s, the publisher Penguin Random House and Entertainment One, which owns the brand of the children’s character Peppa Pig. The four organisations will collaborate to publish Shop With Peppa, an interactive sticker storybook to encourage parents to read with their small children. Copies of the book will be available exclusively from Sainsbury’s stores across the UK from 21 August. The new project will complement the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards, held in August, which are also produced in partnership with the Book Trust and celebrate the best children’s books, encouraging parents and carers of young children to spend time together reading. The awards will be supported by in-store activity in Sainsbury’s shops to promote children’s reading, including special appearances Peppa Pig and her family.

The property company Chestertons has raised more than £3,000 at its annual Charity Golf Day for the homelessness charity St Mungo’s. More than 40 players, including Chestertons’ staff, clients and suppliers, attended Malden Golf Club in New Malden, Surrey, to take part and help beat last year’s total of £2,500. The company is aiming to raise funds for St Mungo’s through various initiatives including bake sales, quiz evenings, bowling competitions and wine tastings.

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