Organised investment fraud cost Aussies $113m | ZDNet | Redgage |

http://redgage.com/blogs/allanbrooks03/organised-investment-fraud-cost-aussies-113m-zdnet.html

The Australian Crime Commission has estimated that 2600 Australians have lost more than $113 million due to investment fraud, in the last five years.

The findings come in a new report, published yesterday, titled Serious and Organised Investment Fraud in Australia (PDF). The report was put together by Taskforce Galilee, a consortium of 19 government departments, including the Crime Commission, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian Tax Office, the Department of Human Services and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

In addition to offers for shares in companies, the fraudsters offer green energy investments, new technology shares, lotteries and sweepstakes and foreign currency trading, among others.

The report found that most of the operations targeting Australians were based overseas. Many were based in Asia, but were not run in Asia. Those who cold-called victims were generally Australia, English, Scottish, Kiwi or South African.

The report stated that the fraudsters commonly used Voice-over-IP, email, phone, mobile phone or SMS to contact victims, and developed fake websites with log-ins that would displace fake balances, to keep the victim investing money in the scam.

The victims tended to be male, aged over 35 years, but generally over 50. Small business owners, self-funded retirees and those who are socially isolated were common. The report said that Australian victims were found to be well-educated and computer literate.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said in a statement that people could be strung along for months before catching on.

"This is what happens. The criminal syndicate cold calls the investor, refers them to a flash website and sends them a brochure, promising strong investment returns. After taking their money, they string them along for months or even years, and then the money disappears," he said.

"People’s entire life savings are stolen by criminals, with the click of a mouse. This type of crime destroys wealth and destroys lives. It’s also very difficult to stop."

He said that the number of those who had fallen victim to investment fraud could be much higher than the 2600 estimate, because people tend not to report the crime.

In a press conference yesterday, Australian Crime Commission CEO John Lawler said telecommunications providers had a big role to play in helping to crack down on investment fraud.

"They become very, very important collaborators, particularly with the regulator. And we do have the telecommunications and the ISP associations engaged with this initiative as well," he said.

"There's a range of things they can do to help in a disruption context. And it becomes about alerting and warning, and when monies are to be sent, or whether we have companies that are identified as being involved in investment fraud that the actual victim is alerted to the fact that these are known to the authorities."

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Organised investment fraud cost Aussies $113m | RedGage | Reddit

http://www.reddit.com/r/business/comments/x6pay/organised_investment_fraud_cost_aussies_113m/

The Australian Crime Commission has estimated that 2600 Australians have lost more than $113 million due to investment fraud, in the last five years.

The findings come in a new report, published yesterday, titled Serious and Organised Investment Fraud in Australia (PDF). The report was put together by Taskforce Galilee, a consortium of 19 government departments, including the Crime Commission, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian Tax Office, the Department of Human Services and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

In addition to offers for shares in companies, the fraudsters offer green energy investments, new technology shares, lotteries and sweepstakes and foreign currency trading, among others.

The report found that most of the operations targeting Australians were based overseas. Many were based in Asia, but were not run in Asia. Those who cold-called victims were generally Australia, English, Scottish, Kiwi or South African.

The report stated that the fraudsters commonly used Voice-over-IP, email, phone, mobile phone or SMS to contact victims, and developed fake websites with log-ins that would displace fake balances, to keep the victim investing money in the scam.

The victims tended to be male, aged over 35 years, but generally over 50. Small business owners, self-funded retirees and those who are socially isolated were common. The report said that Australian victims were found to be well-educated and computer literate.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said in a statement that people could be strung along for months before catching on.

"This is what happens. The criminal syndicate cold calls the investor, refers them to a flash website and sends them a brochure, promising strong investment returns. After taking their money, they string them along for months or even years, and then the money disappears," he said.

"People’s entire life savings are stolen by criminals, with the click of a mouse. This type of crime destroys wealth and destroys lives. It’s also very difficult to stop."

He said that the number of those who had fallen victim to investment fraud could be much higher than the 2600 estimate, because people tend not to report the crime.

In a press conference yesterday, Australian Crime Commission CEO John Lawler said telecommunications providers had a big role to play in helping to crack down on investment fraud.

"They become very, very important collaborators, particularly with the regulator. And we do have the telecommunications and the ISP associations engaged with this initiative as well," he said.

"There's a range of things they can do to help in a disruption context. And it becomes about alerting and warning, and when monies are to be sent, or whether we have companies that are identified as being involved in investment fraud that the actual victim is alerted to the fact that these are known to the authorities."

See more http://springhillcaregroup.net

Dozens of NK defectors booked for insurance fraud

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/07/117_114801.html

Dozens of North Korean defectors have been booked for committing insurance fraud here, in which they gained more than 1 billion won ($874,737), police said Tuesday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they applied for arrest warrants for two North Korean defectors, including a 28-year-old woman whose identity is being withheld, on suspicion of getting falsely hospitalized to win insurance money.

Twenty-five more North defectors were also booked for insurance fraud, the police said. 

The suspects held a large amount of insurance policies and got hospitalized for a variety of false diseases before winning a total of 1.04 billion won in compensation from 2007-10, according to the police. 

Police investigations found that while hospitalized they frequented saunas, restaurants and even night clubs. 

The insurance money was mostly spent on living expenses or sent through Chinese brokers to their families in the North, the police also noted. 

The police added that they have also booked a 71-year-old doctor and five other hospital employees for falsely admitting them, and two brokers who helped them transmit the money to the North. 

The doctor and his staff earned more than 100 million won from the national health insurance agency through the fraud. 

"The suspects found the doctor's hospital through word of mouth that he easily let people in for hospitalization," a police official said. "We will expand our investigation as there is intelligence on similar cases at more hospitals." 

More than a thousand defectors come into the South every year in search of political freedom and economic prosperity, but many fail to adjust to the new system. (Yonhap)

South Korea targets CHP expansion

http://www.cospp.com/articles/print/volume-11/issue-5/features/south-korea-targets-chp-expansion.html

CHP is firmly embedded in the Republic of Korea, mainly due to its role alongside the country's extensive district heating systems. The country now has ambitious plans for the expansion of both technologies and is working on district cooling technologies too, writes David Hayes following a recent visit.

Government plans call for the number of district heating users to increase by one third over the next four years as part of wider efforts to increase clean energy consumption at a time of rising energy costs, without slowing down economic growth.

The government's target will also help boost the use of renewable energy in South Korea, as all district heating companies building new CHP units are required to build renewable energy projects whether or not they are connected to those district heating projects.

South Korea's district heating market has expanded steadily during the past decade, due to the increase in the number of nuclear families living in high rise apartments, and government support for CHP through its planning policy and tax incentives. The population of 49 million consists of 14.4 million households, of which 1.87 million households, or 13% of the total, use district heating.

Government plans call for another 670,000 households to use district heating by 2013 to meet stricter environmental targets. The number of households using district heating will grow by 36%, with almost one in six households planned to use district heating by the end of the current CHP development phase.

The government's plan is to extend district heating to 2.54 million households, so it is a big increase in three years,' commented Chul Jong Yoo, senior manager of Korea District Heating Corporation's (KDHC) global business team, 'Most of the new users will live in the Seoul-Incheon area as the climate is colder there and the population density is high.'