0:00:02 > 0:00:06Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- Get down, get down! - On the floor now!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Put your hands behind your back now!
0:00:24 > 0:00:29It's just an ordinary house. It could be anywhere in the country.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33But this is the Fake Britain house, and it's filled with fakes.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37You may not know it, but your home could be too.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40In this series, we'll be investigating the criminals
0:00:40 > 0:00:42trying to get their hands on your cash,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44by using fraud,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46forgeries and fakery.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50And I'll be showing you how you can avoid being taken for a ride.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Today on Fake Britain,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58the fake Facebook profiles making people's lives hell.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00They were saying that I was an escort.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Somebody might see me and think, "There's that girl who's an escort,"
0:01:03 > 0:01:05which is a horrible feeling to have.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Fake washing powder and the dangers it poses to the public.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14It could be having ingredients that could cause cancer.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Families at war,
0:01:16 > 0:01:21how one man was nearly swindled out of his inheritance by a fake will.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25The pain that has caused, it's just been horrendous.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33We Brits love Facebook.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38The company says 24 million of us log in every day.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42And over half the UK population has an active account.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Look, even Fake Britain's got one.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48But what happens when someone creates a fake profile
0:01:48 > 0:01:52in your name to try to defraud you and your friends?
0:01:56 > 0:02:01Facebook estimates there are over 80 million fake profiles out there.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Many of these are harmless, but a significant number,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09maybe as many as 14 million according to Facebook itself,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12are being operated by fraudsters.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15So, who's being targeted by the Facebook fakers?
0:02:19 > 0:02:23One man who knows what it's like to have your Facebook profile faked
0:02:23 > 0:02:25is Father Peter Wilson.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27He's a priest in a London parish
0:02:27 > 0:02:31and he uses Facebook to stay in touch with his flock.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35But, one day, he got a phone call he wasn't expecting.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37A friend got in touch, and said,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39"I think your identity's been stolen
0:02:39 > 0:02:42"because you've just approached me asking me for money,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44"and I don't think it is you."
0:02:44 > 0:02:48I laughed it off, but then more and more friends got in touch,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52and it soon emerged that somebody had indeed taken my photograph
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and set up an alternative account in my name,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58and had approached all my friends asking for money.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00They knew it wasn't me
0:03:00 > 0:03:02because they know I wouldn't do something like that.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And it turns out that Father Peter is not the only man of the cloth
0:03:06 > 0:03:08to be targeted in this way.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11I know in the past few days, another priest colleague of mine
0:03:11 > 0:03:13has had the same happen.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Before anyone was taken in by the bogus account,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Father Peter managed to alert Facebook
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and the fake profile was taken down immediately.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29But not every victim of the Facebook fakers gets away so lightly.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Bromley resident Jasmine Jones deactivated her Facebook account
0:03:32 > 0:03:34a couple of years ago.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37So she was surprised to see a message from Facebook.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39I had an e-mail notification to say,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42"Your Facebook has been reactivated," which I thought, how strange.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44I didn't even know this was possible.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I assumed my Facebook had been deleted
0:03:46 > 0:03:48and all the pictures had gone.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Only did I find out that you can just type in your password again
0:03:50 > 0:03:52with your e-mail address,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and that same Facebook you had years ago has never been deleted.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Jasmine's old Facebook account had been hacked.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03The faker had somehow figured out her password
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and now had complete access to her old account.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Jasmine contacted Facebook immediately.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11If you actually contact Facebook,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16it takes them two or three weeks to completely delete that account.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18And, by that time, it was too late.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The person had already taken so much information from my e-mail addresses
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and saved so many pictures from my old Facebook,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27they'd already started becoming me.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30They'd read all my messages, so they saw exactly how I spoke.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Exactly what sort of friends I have, where I'd been out,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35they'd also saved videos of my friends and I
0:04:35 > 0:04:38when we'd gone on trips, like to Thorpe Park.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41So effectively, they'd just sort of taken all my identity
0:04:41 > 0:04:47and were waiting to build on it and start a scam and make money from it.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51And it didn't take the faker long to go to work.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55When I looked online, there were 10 fake Facebooks of me.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57They were saying that I was an escort.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00And that people could pay this person money
0:05:00 > 0:05:03to come and meet up with me.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06So I just thought, I went to the police about it and said,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09this is getting outrageous. It's defamation of character.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11I'm a law graduate, I'm not an escort.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Fake profiles, which used Jasmine's images
0:05:15 > 0:05:18but different names, were appearing on Facebook.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24The faker was using the profiles to befriend other Facebook users,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28flirting with them, and, then, once a relationship had been established,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30offering them sex in exchange for money.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Jasmine notified Facebook every time it happened,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39but hours after one profile was taken down, another would appear.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The fake profiles that the fraudster had created
0:05:44 > 0:05:47continued to have a very real impact on Jasmine's life.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Somebody might see me in the street and think, "There's that girl
0:05:52 > 0:05:55"who's an escort," which is just a horrible feeling to have.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57And is the person who's pretending to be me,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59am I looking them in the eye every day?
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Like Jasmine, most victims of Facebook fakery
0:06:03 > 0:06:06have no idea who the faker is.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08But what happens when you discover that the person
0:06:08 > 0:06:12who's hacked your Facebook account is someone you know?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Later, we'll meet a young woman still coming to terms
0:06:15 > 0:06:19with having her Facebook profile faked by someone she trusted.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Getting our whites whiter is big business.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Millions of packs of washing powder are sold every year in the UK,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and you can bet when there's big money on offer,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38the fakers want to get involved.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41We've seen a lot of counterfeits in the Fake Britain house.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44But are you prepared to take the challenge?
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Can you tell which one of these is fake, and which one is real?
0:06:48 > 0:06:53Well, as our story shows, the packs may look very similar,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56but what's inside can be very different.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Today, we're with Mark Rolfe from Kent Trading Standards.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07He's just found out that the authorities have seized
0:07:07 > 0:07:10a suspicious shipment of washing powder at the port of Dover.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15We're on our way to the docks.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18We've had a call from our colleagues in the Borders Agency
0:07:18 > 0:07:20who tell us that they've got a lorry load
0:07:20 > 0:07:22of what they think is fake washing powder.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25So we're going to go down to the port, see what they've got,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and if they're right, as they usually are, it's fair to say,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31then we'll take possession of it and deal with it from there.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And Mark needs to act quickly.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39It's really important for us to get to the docks as soon as we can,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43to assess what's there, what's going on and to take the right action
0:07:43 > 0:07:44and get hold of the product.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47And stop it going any further into the consumer chain.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56It's a massive haul. The largest seen in the UK for four years.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02There's 33 pallets here, which is just over 2,500 packets.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Or 21 tonnes of fake washing powder.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09We estimate that will be worth about £50,000.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Mark goes to work.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16He's looking for telltale signs that the powder is fake.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19And the smell of the product is a useful indicator of fakery.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24I was having a sniff, because our experience is that quite often
0:08:24 > 0:08:29these fake washing powders contain chlorides, which is kind of bleach.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Often, you can smell that when you open the box.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38This one certainly doesn't smell like a premium brand washing powder.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42So, what's in fake washing powder?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46And does using it pose a risk for you and your family?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Ian Niven is a chemist. He's spent the last 30 years
0:08:51 > 0:08:53formulating and testing washing powders
0:08:53 > 0:08:56for major detergent brands.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58He believes fake washing powder
0:08:58 > 0:09:02poses a number of serious health risks to the public.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04When you buy a fake product,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07do you really think that somebody who's cheating the consumer in
0:09:07 > 0:09:11that sort of way is going to be that bothered what goes into his product?
0:09:13 > 0:09:14So, you could, at the worst,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17be having ingredients that could cause cancer.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20You can certainly have ingredients that would cause irritation.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Because the formulation will be very carefully specified.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27So, babies, for instance, with sensitive skin,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30you could have real problems using a fake product.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35And what will a fake product like this do to your clothes?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37You'll get clothes going yellow, perhaps,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39because it doesn't remove the fats.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42You could have clothes losing their colour and fading,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44because the bleach is too aggressive.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Or maybe it won't remove the stains at all
0:09:46 > 0:09:47because there's no beach in there.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51We asked Ian to compare the fake and the real products.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55My first impression is that this looks a very good product.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57You can see all the granules in there,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and they're not clumped together at all.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04If we move to the other product, you can see lots of lumps.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07And all that powder stuck to the sides of the box,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09it's not the sign of a quality product.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10A quality detergent product
0:10:10 > 0:10:12will never stick to the insides of the pack.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15So if you bring one home and find it stuck like that,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17it may be you've got a fake.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23So, what is actually in this box of fake washing powder
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and could it be harmful to you and me?
0:10:27 > 0:10:31We asked Dr Daniel Driscoll at Surrey University to analyse
0:10:31 > 0:10:35the fake powder and find out exactly what it consists of.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39These fake washing powders consist mostly of a compound called
0:10:39 > 0:10:41sodium carbonate, which you can buy in a supermarket,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43usually labelled as soda crystals.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47And there's also some cheap fragrance thrown in
0:10:47 > 0:10:49to try and make it at least smell of something.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53And then it's all mixed together and put in a cheap cardboard box.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58The washing powder manufactured by the big brands is closely regulated.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00And hundreds of tests are carried out
0:11:00 > 0:11:02before the product hits the shelves.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07One key test is for pH, which measures acidity.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14We asked Dr Driscoll to test the pH of the fake product
0:11:14 > 0:11:15and the real thing.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20No washing powder sold in the UK will have a pH of over 11.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25The real product measured 10.7,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29well within safe levels for a product like washing powder.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31What about the fake?
0:11:31 > 0:11:36And we see the fake sample has a pH of 11.5.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's a shocking finding.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44The fake powder is as corrosive as some household bleaches
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- or oven cleaners.- The fake washing powder has a high pH.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51This could be a problem if you have wet hands
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and touch the powder, as it could start causing skin irritation
0:11:54 > 0:11:55or possibly even minor burns.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And, given how corrosive this product is,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Dr Driscoll is also concerned about the risks
0:12:02 > 0:12:05the fake washing powder poses to young children.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09If a child were to swallow this fake washing powder,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12there's every chance it could do some real damage.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15There is unlikely to be any safety controls as there would be
0:12:15 > 0:12:17presumably with the genuine powders,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20such as other compounds included to minimise the damage.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22This fake washing powder is very unlikely
0:12:22 > 0:12:24to have such things in place.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Making sure that YOU make decisions
0:12:32 > 0:12:35about what happens to everything you own when you die,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39and not have someone else doing it, isn't that difficult.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41You just write one of these, a will.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46It's an important legal document, but even a will can be faked.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And when it is, like this one, it can devastate the families involved.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Stephen Crisp recently lost his grandfather, Bob.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00A man who helped to bring him up.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04He was a good grandfather.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And I went to live with them, my grandad and my nan,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09when I was younger.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16Bob had owned a house and had over £10,000 in savings.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Several months before his death, he wrote his will,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24dividing his estate between his grandson Stephen and Stephen's aunt.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Bob took the further precaution of providing each of them with a copy
0:13:28 > 0:13:32of his will, and asked them both not to disclose the contents to anyone.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35Bob was close to Stephen,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38but had had a difficult relationship with his own son,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Nigel, Stephen's father.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Just before he died, Bob asked Stephen to look after his affairs.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50My grandfather, a few weeks before he passed away,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55gave me all his bank account details and everything for me to look after.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Immediately after Bob's death, Stephen's father, Nigel,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05began insisting there was no need to invite anyone to the funeral.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Which Stephen found strange.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Soon after the funeral,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Stephen needed to access his grandfather's account
0:14:11 > 0:14:15to cover maintenance bills on his grandfather's house.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17But he was in for a nasty surprise.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20When I went down to the bank,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and I see the lady, and said to her,
0:14:23 > 0:14:28"I'm trying to get some money out of my grandfather's account."
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Took all his details.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34And she was like, "Yeah, I'm afraid that account has been closed."
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I asked, "How could that have been closed?"
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And she said, "Well, somebody has come down here,
0:14:41 > 0:14:46"they have used a death certificate and a will."
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Bob's bank account had been emptied.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54His life savings, over £10,000, gone.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57When Stephen asked why the bank had paid out the money,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00he was told that someone claiming to be both the executor
0:15:00 > 0:15:04and beneficiary and possessing a will confirming those facts
0:15:04 > 0:15:08had withdrawn the money and closed the account.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Stephen was furious.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12He immediately applied to have
0:15:12 > 0:15:14his grandfather's estate placed in probate.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16This put the process on pause,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and dispersal of his grandfather's estate
0:15:18 > 0:15:22would have to be reviewed by a legal authority.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25But Stephen was in for a further shock.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28I was driving past one day,
0:15:28 > 0:15:34and I noticed two "For Sale" boards outside my grandfather's house.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40So I rang up one of the estate agents, who I know very well,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and he said that, "Your father's put it on."
0:15:44 > 0:15:46I said, "He can't, it's in probate."
0:15:46 > 0:15:51And that was when I decided then that, you know, enough's enough.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Seeing that his father was only weeks away
0:15:54 > 0:15:58from selling the property, valued at £135,000,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Stephen contacted the police.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07His case was dealt with by DC Jill Lacey.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I went and met Stephen myself,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12spent quite a lengthy time talking to him
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and other members of the family.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18After which it became fairly apparent that indeed,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20a fraud had taken place,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23and there ensued the criminal investigation.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30DC Lacey conducted a search of Nigel and Jenny Crisp's house.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33She recovered what she suspected was the fake will.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37The case would hinge on being able to prove the will Stephen had
0:16:37 > 0:16:41was real, and the one recovered from his parents' house was fake.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46This is a copy of the will that was written by the offender.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49These documents can be downloaded from the internet for a small fee,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52they can purchased in supermarkets.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55All that's needed is for the document to be witnessed,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58taken along to a financial institution,
0:16:58 > 0:17:03as was in this case, and the money is accessed and it's gone.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Conveniently, the two witnesses who'd signed the fake will
0:17:08 > 0:17:10were both dead.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13If DC Lacey was to prove the will was indeed a fake,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16she'd need conclusive evidence.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20She decided to have a handwriting expert examine the will.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Handwriting samples were taken from both suspects
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and those samples, along with the suspected fake will,
0:17:27 > 0:17:28were sent to be analysed.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33These are some handwriting specimens written by one of the suspects,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35they were written for the police.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37And they contain several lines of the text
0:17:37 > 0:17:39that is present within the will.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46It was clear to the analyst that Nigel Crisp's handwriting
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and the handwriting used in the suspect fake will
0:17:49 > 0:17:50were remarkably similar.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53It wasn't particularly sophisticated,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55it was simply a document that was written out
0:17:55 > 0:17:58in more or less the person's normal handwriting.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00It wasn't particularly disguised,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02it was maybe a little bit carefully written,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04but I've seen many documents
0:18:04 > 0:18:06that are much more disguised than this one.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11The handwriting proved to be Nigel's, Stephen's father.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14This gave DC Lacey the conclusive piece of evidence she needed.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Nigel and Jenny Crisp maintained their innocence
0:18:19 > 0:18:23throughout the investigation, but, once the case came to court,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25they admitted their guilt.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Nigel admitted the offence of making a false instrument,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32while Jenny admitted to using a false instrument with intent.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Both received suspended sentences,
0:18:35 > 0:18:41and have been ordered to repay Stephen Crisp and his aunt £16,000.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Criminal cases which set members of a single family
0:18:44 > 0:18:47against each other are particularly difficult
0:18:47 > 0:18:48for both the family members involved
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and the police officers investigating.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56The pain that it's caused, it's just been horrendous.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01You're asking people to provide information
0:19:01 > 0:19:03to an investigation against a father, a mother,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06any other relative, and it's really quite difficult.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09But I think there's always going to have to be a good reason
0:19:09 > 0:19:11for doing that, and I feel in this case there was.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Over the last few years, an increasing number of fake wills
0:19:17 > 0:19:20have been used to steal inheritances.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Nigel and Jenny Crisp used a will template
0:19:23 > 0:19:26downloaded from the internet to create their fake will.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31So, has the availability of do-it-yourself wills
0:19:31 > 0:19:33made making a fake one all too easy?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36And what can you do to protect your will?
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Richard Roberts is one of the UK's leading experts on wills
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and he currently chairs the Law Society's wills committee.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Fake wills are certainly on the increase.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55Part of that is down to the fact that it's now easier to create
0:19:55 > 0:20:00a fake will, primarily because you can use the internet to create
0:20:00 > 0:20:05a will and, therefore, unscrupulous relatives are using that as a means.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And Richard has some advice for anyone planning to make a will.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13In Stephen's case, I think
0:20:13 > 0:20:19the real key point there was that the will was made by a solicitor.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Now, of course, as a lawyer,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I'm bound to say that it's the right thing to have a solicitor
0:20:23 > 0:20:27make your will, but, in this case, it really was helpful
0:20:27 > 0:20:31because that solicitor had a valid will with a proper signature on.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35It was therefore very much easier for the police to uncover
0:20:35 > 0:20:37that sort of fraud.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Six months after seeing his parents' fakery exposed, Stephen has been
0:20:46 > 0:20:50able to sell his grandfather's house and he's moving on with his life.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56But repairing family ties is going to take some time.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01My mother, she will come over and see me still.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Even after what she has done,
0:21:05 > 0:21:10I still try my hardest to keep a relationship with her.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And for Stephen's oldest son, Thomas, who used to visit
0:21:15 > 0:21:20his grandparents, the family discord has been unsettling.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23We just have to try and work through it as a family with him
0:21:23 > 0:21:25and, you know, help him get over it and also, you know,
0:21:25 > 0:21:30to help Stephen as well cos he's got no contact with his dad any more.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Stephen still muses on what his grandfather would make
0:21:33 > 0:21:36of the sequence of events that followed his death.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I know he wouldn't be surprised of what has happened.
0:21:40 > 0:21:46He did warn us, before he passed away, that we need to
0:21:46 > 0:21:52watch Nigel, as he knew what he was capable of.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Earlier, we met Jasmine Jones.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02Her Facebook profile had been hacked
0:22:02 > 0:22:07and pictures of her were being used on fake Facebook profiles.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Some of these profiles were stating that Jasmine was an escort.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12Somebody might see me in the street and think,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15"Oh, yeah, there's that girl who's an escort," which is
0:22:15 > 0:22:18just a horrible feeling to have, and is the person who's pretending
0:22:18 > 0:22:20to be me, am I looking them in the eye every day?
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Jasmine is still trying to find out who created these fake
0:22:24 > 0:22:25Facebook accounts.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29But what's it like when someone close to you fakes your profile?
0:22:29 > 0:22:30There we go.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Abbie Brown is a single mum from Burnley.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36She's always loved using Facebook.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41I talk to my friends on it every day, socialise through it,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- contact my family through it. - But, last year,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48something strange happened to Abbie's Facebook profile.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50One day, I went to go on it and I couldn't get on it,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53so I reported it and left it as that.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Abbie didn't hear back from Facebook,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59so she decided to open a new account.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Shortly afterwards, one of her closest friends
0:23:02 > 0:23:06since childhood asked a favour - could Abbie take
0:23:06 > 0:23:09delivery of some parcels she'd ordered from catalogue companies?
0:23:09 > 0:23:10She told me they were for her
0:23:10 > 0:23:13partner at the time for Christmas, so I took them in.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Being a friend, didn't want him to see them,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and then I took them down to her.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24But the parcels kept on arriving and Abbie started to grow suspicious.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Then, one time, her actual partner picked them up from my house,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30but she told me they were for him, which I thought was a bit strange.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33That's when I started clicking on that something weren't right.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36And Abbie's suspicions grew following a visit
0:23:36 > 0:23:39from a very angry stranger.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I answered it, "Hiya, you all right?" And then she were like,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45"No, have you got my money?" "What?" "Have you got my money?
0:23:45 > 0:23:46"You know I were turning up to your door."
0:23:46 > 0:23:48And I went, "No, I don't."
0:23:48 > 0:23:50She went, "Well, it's you on Facebook."
0:23:50 > 0:23:54The woman was insistent that she'd purchased goods from Abbie
0:23:54 > 0:23:57through Facebook. In fact, Abbie's old Facebook profile,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00which she assumed had been deleted,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04was being used by her friend to advertise products for sale.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08These included clothes, shoes and perfumes.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Anyone buying these products would, of course,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14think that Abbie was the seller, so when goods weren't delivered,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17customers, like the one who'd just paid Abbie a visit,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19believed that she'd cheated them.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24It was after this visit that Abbie put two and two together
0:24:24 > 0:24:28and realised that her friend was, in fact, the Facebook faker.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32And there was more bad news in the post for Abbie.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37The faker hadn't simply used a fake Facebook profile
0:24:37 > 0:24:39to advertise the goods.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42She'd also purchased those goods by setting up catalogue accounts
0:24:42 > 0:24:44in Abbie's name.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I had just been getting letters saying I owed,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50like, £300 here and £70 here.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Especially before Christmas, it's not nice, and I thought,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57"It's going to affect my credit", which it has gone on to my credit.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59And I need to get to get that lifted.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Abbie believes part of the reason the faker targeted her
0:25:03 > 0:25:06is because they knew each other so well.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Now I know that she'd got into my Facebook, used my password,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14cos she knew me that well, she guessed my password.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18She knew everything because I'd talk to her on a daily basis, so
0:25:18 > 0:25:21she knew what I were doing that day and she could put it on Facebook.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Understandably, Abbie's still coming to terms with what happened.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28I trusted her with all my heart
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and I feel like she had a bit of a kick out of doing it, in a sick way.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Abbie reported the fraud, only to discover that there was already
0:25:36 > 0:25:41an ongoing police investigation into her former friend's activities.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Two other targets of the faker had come forward.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47When these two cases came to court,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51the faker pleaded guilty to two charges of false representation.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Sadly, Abbie's case wasn't reported in time to be
0:25:54 > 0:25:56included in the prosecution.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59However, she did, at least, have the satisfaction of seeing her
0:25:59 > 0:26:04former friend fined and sentenced to 200 hours community service.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Meanwhile, Abbie's still waiting to find out
0:26:07 > 0:26:09what happened to her old account.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13I don't actually know if it was them that took the Facebook account down
0:26:13 > 0:26:17or she deactivated it, cos they've never contacted me through it.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20They've never actually e-mailed me, saying,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22"We have took the Facebook down.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27"We've seen it's been hacked." They never contacted me through anything.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Abbie's experience reveals the lengths a determined
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Facebook faker will go to in order to get their hands on a fake
0:26:33 > 0:26:39Facebook account. So, what can you do to protect your profile?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Professor Dave Harte lectures on social media
0:26:42 > 0:26:44at Birmingham City University.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49And Professor Harte has some advice to help you stay safe online
0:26:49 > 0:26:52when using social media like Facebook.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56There are a few things you can do to think about what you're doing on
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Facebook, and the extent to which it makes you a target for fraudsters.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02The first of it is, what kind of information
0:27:02 > 0:27:04are you letting Facebook know about you?
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Have you told it where you live?
0:27:06 > 0:27:08How many of your interests are on there?
0:27:08 > 0:27:11How often do you talk about the detail of your family life
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and your relatives?
0:27:13 > 0:27:16If you're telling Facebook and your followers what your dog's
0:27:16 > 0:27:20name is, then maybe your dog's name shouldn't be your password.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Be mindful of the security settings on Facebook, because, actually,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27you have a degree of control there, which perhaps you don't realise.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31You can actually stop your profile being public whatsoever.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Just your updates and information about you,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37just goes to those friends you have chosen.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Not friends of friends, just friends.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Facebook told us that while they couldn't comment on individual
0:27:44 > 0:27:48cases, they had actioned reports into the cases we featured.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50They stressed Facebook was a safe
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and secure place with extra security features,
0:27:53 > 0:27:58comprehensive tools for reporting fraud and a team of safety experts.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01They said they encourage people not to share their password with others
0:28:01 > 0:28:06and to protect their accounts using two-factor authentication.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10They added that if you think your account's been compromised, visit
0:28:10 > 0:28:13facebook.com/hacked to secure it as quickly as possible.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye.