Rogue Traders
23rd July 2026
A rogue trader in south Warwickshire who asked customers to 'take a leap of faith' on him went on to scam customers out of more than £39,000.
Bruce Harris, of Long Compton, was sentenced to 36 months in prison, suspended for 30 months, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday, July 15.
The 51-year-old self-employed gardener was convicted of 13 counts of fraud by false representation after scamming customers out of more than £39,000.
14th July 2026
A landscape gardener has been jailed for five years and eight months after defrauding 18 customers out of about £42,000 across three counties.
James Knight, 34, of Verne Road, in Verwood, Dorset, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday.
The court heard he took large deposits from customers in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire for landscaping work, then delivered only a fraction of the materials or work agreed, or none at all.
Phishing Scams
19th July 2026
You have had an X account for years, since it was known as Twitter. When an email arrives about a new login from a location nowhere near where you live, alarm bells begin to ring.
“We noticed a login to your account from a new device. Was this you?” the email asks.
The location is Arizona, but you live in London. The device is “Firefox Desktop on Mac”.
“If this wasn’t you,” the email continues, “complete these steps now to protect your account.”
1st July 2026
O2 is today warning of a new phishing scam in which fraudsters pose as the telecoms company and claim customers’ SIM cards are about to expire.
As part of the scam, Brits are directed to a fake O2 site – where they’re asked to ‘login’ to accept new terms and conditions. The scam aims to get hold of customers’ legitimate login details so fraudsters can take over their MyO2 account. The site may appear to be legitimate but is designed to steal customers’ usernames and passwords.
Online Scams
25th July 2026
Holidaymakers have been urged to exercise caution, after a rise in reports of holiday scams.
Santander UK reported a jump in total customer losses to such fraud in the second quarter of this year, with holiday-related scams used to steal £42,773.62 between April and June.
That followed research by payment service provider emerchantpay which suggested a third of holidaymakers have reported an increase in potential travel scams on social media over the past year.
5th July 2026
By using websites copied from stores such as Aldi, fraudsters hope hot and bothered buyers will miss the red flags.
With the UK heatwave expected to increase temperatures over the next week, you decide to invest in an air conditioning unit. But they are expensive, and stocks are running out in the shops as everyone else has had the same idea.
After a quick search, you see that there are other options online, and some from names that you recognise.
Telephone Scams
22nd July 2026
A man is warning others to beware after a "clever" scammer pretending to work for Amazon conned him out of £1,800.
Retired charity volunteer Dorian Jones said he was initially suspicious but was caught out when he was called by a second fraudster who then "verified" the first as an Amazon employee.
"It was so authentic. He got the better of me," the 70-year-old said, adding that the scam, which happened earlier this month, got him "hook, line and sinker".
29th July 2026
Scammers are exploiting the hot weather and hosepipe bans to target the public with convincing new fraud attempts.
Residents in Dorset are being warned of a rise in scams involving fake messages claiming to be from water companies.
These messages—sent by text, email, or phone call—urge recipients to check if they are affected by hosepipe bans, apply for free water-saving devices, update payment details, or claim refunds on water bills.
Dorset Police said the goal is to steal personal or financial information.