0:00:02 > 0:00:04Millions of us are targeted in scams every year,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07and whether it comes in the form of an e-mail,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10a cold call or knock at the door, they are all designed to do
0:00:10 > 0:00:14one thing and one thing only - to get you to part with your cash.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38Coming up, the elaborate scam designed to get people to hand over their PIN numbers.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I felt like a complete idiot.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I thought, "I've done exactly what the bank warn you not to do."
0:00:44 > 0:00:50Plus, I meet a man who was drawn into a property scam that left him in dire straits.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I will be liable for the shortfall,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57and that will maybe mean I lose my own home.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Chip and PIN - a system devised to make credit and debit card fraud harder,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and in the most part it's been very successful.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12That hasn't stopped the con men from trying.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And in 2010, a pair of fraudsters devised
0:01:15 > 0:01:20an elaborate con to get hold of people's bank cards and PIN numbers.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Their scam was targeted largely at pensioners
0:01:22 > 0:01:25and they managed to steal over £100,000.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31In a number of cases, they had illnesses and disabilities.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36The loss of esteem with the money had really severe effects on a number of the victims.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42The investigation into these con men began in January 2011,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45when complaints began flooding in to Kent police.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51We were receiving complaints, in some areas as many as two or three in a day.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55People were saying that money was being stolen from their bank accounts,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59and there seemed to be a clear pattern connecting the cases.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02The victims would receive a call from a male.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08He would speak to them by name. He was in a position to identify what their bank was,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13and he would basically bring them on board by saying that he was a police officer,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17he was from a fraud squad, and that they were investigating
0:02:17 > 0:02:21the victim's credit card or account, which had been compromised.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26- 62-year-old pensioner Patricia Harris...- Hello?
0:02:26 > 0:02:28..was woken by one such call.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33They phoned early in the morning and said they were the police
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and that they had good news and bad news.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40The bad news was someone had tried to use my card on the Internet,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44but the good news was it had been picked up.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Well, I thought I was lucky that, you know,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51whatever it was hadn't gone through and I hadn't lost money.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The fraudster's authoritative patter convinced Patricia
0:02:54 > 0:02:57she was talking to a genuine police officer.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02100% believed them, because they were so confident,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and they did actually sound like the police, you know?
0:03:04 > 0:03:06They said all the right things.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Realising they had Patricia hooked, they then began an onslaught of phone calls.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17They kept ringing and asking more and more questions
0:03:17 > 0:03:22about where I used the card, what was the last time I used the card.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27They rang so often it'd almost become like speaking to a friend.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Bombarding their victims with phone calls was a deliberate and calculated tactic.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38It let the offenders know the victim's state of mind, effectively.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43It also allowed them to keep exerting a level of pressure against the victim by saying,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47"You mustn't contact your bank, you mustn't speak to a member of your family."
0:03:47 > 0:03:53The barrage of calls left Patricia scared and confused, and sensing the moment was right,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58the fraudsters told Patricia they would need to collect her card and PIN number.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03They said they would send an officer round with a code word.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08And to have the card ready in an envelope,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12and to write the PIN number on the envelope, and of course, I did.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Patricia waited, envelope in hand, for one of the con men to arrive.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22A chap turned up at the door in a plain dark suit,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25very well-dressed, actually.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31He said the code word, and then he showed me his identification.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It looked unbelievably real.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39But the man claiming to be a police officer was, of course, nothing of the sort,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and as soon as he'd collected Patricia's card,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45he went to a cash machine and withdrew £400.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But Patricia had smelled a rat.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54After the card had been collected, erm, I don't know.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00Something didn't seem quite right. I started to get anxious.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And I phoned the bank and they said,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07"No, we'll put a stop on the card immediately."
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Patricia's quick thinking meant no more money could be taken from her account.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15But the fraudsters were soon back on the phone.
0:05:15 > 0:05:2320 minutes after I cancelled the card, I got yet another call from the original chap,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and I said, "No, I've stopped the card."
0:05:26 > 0:05:28So he said, "Why?"
0:05:28 > 0:05:35I said, "Because I suddenly realised I don't think you are the police, and I don't think this is genuine."
0:05:35 > 0:05:39And in this amazed tone, he said, "Well, you've spoiled everything now."
0:05:39 > 0:05:43I said, "Good. And don't phone me again."
0:05:44 > 0:05:46I felt like a complete idiot.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50I thought, "I've done exactly what the bank warn you not to do.
0:05:50 > 0:05:56"I've told someone my PIN number, I've given my card away to a complete stranger."
0:05:56 > 0:06:00And more than anything, I felt a fool.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03But Patricia wasn't alone.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Scores of other pensioners had handed over their cards in exactly the same way,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13and Detective Constable Don Share was now on the trail of the men behind this scam.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20I had a number of identities made as regards the person who had come to the victims' door,
0:06:20 > 0:06:26and there was no consistency there. It was different identifications made, different descriptions.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31There was no vehicles, it was quite a low starting point to work from.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38But there was one lead. The con men had used pre-pay mobile phones to contact their victims.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Pre-pay mobile phones are a tool that is used increasingly by criminals.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49It's a way of distancing themselves from a particular mobile
0:06:49 > 0:06:54in the hope that if they use that in an offence, it can't be tracked back to them.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59But it's a big mistake. Once you've hit dial on a mobile, you're on the grid.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Mobile phones leave a network imprint, effectively a footprint.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10Wherever that phone is used to make an outgoing call or an ingoing call, it registers the area.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15That data narrowed down the places where the criminals were making their calls,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19but DC Share needed more to go on.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24We had already looked at some of the travel patterns for the mobiles that were being used.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28It was clear they were travelling down the key motorways, effectively,
0:07:28 > 0:07:29into Kent from the London area.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Because of where these offences were occurring,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36it was clear that a vehicle was the key means of travel.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41If they could locate this vehicle, they would find the fraudsters.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Within Kent, we've invested heavily in technology
0:07:45 > 0:07:51which has seen our key main roads covered by a system of cameras.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56It's a tool that's called automatic numberplate reading.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00The team set about cross referencing information captured by these cameras
0:08:00 > 0:08:04with the locations where the phones and the cards had been used.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09I'd spent upwards of a week just reviewing data of the offences
0:08:09 > 0:08:14and comparing vehicles that may be in one area against vehicles in another area.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Soul-destroying work to do, and time-consuming.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Good, old-fashioned police work - it finally paid off.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28We were able to identify one particular vehicle
0:08:28 > 0:08:32that was in the Maidstone area on a key date of an offence,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37and when we searched that vehicle against data for the Gravesend area,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40it was also in that area on the time of a key offence.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45So, they now had the car, but just who was driving?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48We made a number of background checks to establish who potentially
0:08:48 > 0:08:52was using that vehicle, and that name was Oscar Uebowa.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Eastender Oscar Uebowa was 27 years old,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00and what they discovered about his lifestyle was a revelation.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05We had found out he was living in some very expensive apartments.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10He had also a penchant for renting high-value, top-end vehicles.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13We built up this picture of this person who was leading a high life
0:09:13 > 0:09:18but had no demonstratable form of job that was supporting that high life.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20He was living well beyond his means.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The police were confident that he was their man,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28but just as soon as they had Uebowa in their sights, he disappeared.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33We were doing a series of warrants to try and locate and arrest Uebowa
0:09:33 > 0:09:39when we found mail for Uebowa was being addressed to an east London address.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42That address was home to Uebowa's accomplice,
0:09:42 > 0:09:4626-year-old Jonathan Minter, and he was arrested.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48But Uebowa remained at large.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54We found him one morning leaving his mother's address in east London.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57An officer approached him, spoke to him,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and Uebowa made that conscious decision at that time to try and flee.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04He battered his way out, knocked the police car out of the way,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06and drove off at high speed before ultimately
0:10:06 > 0:10:09crashing in a head-on collision with another vehicle.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Uebowa was unhurt and was arrested
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
0:10:18 > 0:10:24He pleaded guilty and on the 30th of April, 2012, was sentenced to four years in prison.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28His accomplice, Jonathan Minter, initially claimed he was innocent
0:10:28 > 0:10:32but later pleaded guilty and was sent down for five years.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37The two of them had stolen over £100,000 from 27 victims,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39most of whom were aged 80 or over.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46I, personally, was extremely annoyed, as most people would be, to see
0:10:46 > 0:10:50the level of offending that had taken place.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55It's very pleasing to see that these individuals were ultimately convicted and are now serving sentence for it.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06When the property market boomed,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10so did the market for buy-to-let investments,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15and for a lot of people, they turned out to be a great way to boost their savings.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18But unfortunately, that hasn't been the case for all.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Over the last decade, con men have come up with a range of
0:11:21 > 0:11:25buy-to-let scams that have targeted our desire to invest in property.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30In this country, we love bricks and mortar, we always have done.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It's always been seen as a safe investment.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37In most of these scams, con men promise high quality properties
0:11:37 > 0:11:40with guaranteed rental incomes.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42But when people have handed over their cash,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47they discover they've been sold a derelict house or one in an area where no-one wants to rent.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52The fundamental thing is,
0:11:52 > 0:11:58it's all about selling property at over the odds, at inflated prices.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02And sadly, these scams have succeeded in taking millions of pounds
0:12:02 > 0:12:04from honest and hard working people.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09I'm off to meet a man who invested in buy-to-let property,
0:12:09 > 0:12:14hoping that it would give him long-term security.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15Sadly, the opposite is true.
0:12:17 > 0:12:2068-year-old Alan is retired and lives near Swindon.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24In 2007, he was drawn into a buy-to-let scam,
0:12:24 > 0:12:29and as a result now faces the very real prospect of losing his own home.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31- Hello, Alan.- Hello, Matt. - How are you doing, all right?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33- Nice to see you.- Shall I come in? - Come in.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'For years, Alan worked for export companies in the city, where
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'he handled multi-million pound contracts
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'and dealt with complex shipping arrangements.'
0:12:42 > 0:12:46What was it about you that made you good at that job?
0:12:46 > 0:12:51I had attention to detail, as far as documentation and the financial arrangements were concerned.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54That's what I was particularly known for.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56So, when it came to fine detail, Alan is your go to.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Well, I was one of those. That was my particular feature, I suppose, yes.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Alan left his city job after going through a divorce,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and has since tried his hand at door to door sales and running a shop.
0:13:08 > 0:13:14But with retirement fast approaching, Alan needed to find a way to secure his financial future.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21I'd been to one or two seminars, the type of get-rich-quick type of meetings,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25which I always am fairly dubious about.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31But then a buy-to-let investment company made Alan sit up and take notice.
0:13:31 > 0:13:38They were sending daily e-mail offerings with highly detailed brochures.
0:13:38 > 0:13:45One or two caught my eye, and the figures they were giving seemed to be fairly realistic.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49The initial phase of this fraud has to be marketing.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51You've got to get people interested in it.
0:13:51 > 0:13:58The easiest way of doing that is by having a very, very professional e-mail sent out.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Alan was curious, and decided to contact the company for more information.
0:14:04 > 0:14:12Once you respond to this, they then bring in a highly trained, very skilled sales team.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14The sales rep told Alan they could offer him
0:14:14 > 0:14:18substantial discounts on brand new properties.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24This company were claiming 15%, maybe 16%, 17.5% discount.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29And that could easily mean a discount of £15,000 to £20,000. Not bad.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Even better, the company told Alan they had a legitimate scheme
0:14:33 > 0:14:38that meant he could use this discount as the deposit on his mortgage.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41All he had to do to take advantage of this scheme was attend
0:14:41 > 0:14:46the company's seminar, at a cost of just under £2,800.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Alan signed up, and was impressed by what he saw.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55They were not high-pressure or pushy,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57they seemed to be fairly low key.
0:14:57 > 0:15:04They seemed to be not attempting to deceive people.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10They will portray themselves as very professional, very used to dealing in property,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and they will tell you that they will deal with it all.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Of the many properties the company was offering,
0:15:16 > 0:15:21it was a new build in the Country Durham town of Bishop Auckland that caught Alan's attention.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26Can you tell me what it was that made it stand out from all the others you'd seen?
0:15:26 > 0:15:32The nature of the property, which was a detached house, the price,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37and the general description of the amenities of the area.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41With its proximity to the town centre
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and a train station, the property seemed to be in a prime location,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and Alan was told it would bring in almost £700 per month in rent.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55How did you go about checking those figures?
0:15:55 > 0:16:00They would have given the names of certain estate agents locally to check the rental figures.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06Alan now suspects the agents who confirmed these figures were part of the scam,
0:16:06 > 0:16:12but at the time he had no reason to doubt them, and was eager to go ahead and purchase the property.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18But to proceed, Alan would have to cough up yet more cash, a £1,000 reservation fee
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and a finder's fee of almost £6,000.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Fraudsters are in this to make money.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30They will try and extract as much money as they possibly can.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31They will push it to the limit.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Having shelled out another seven grand in fees,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Alan was finally allowed to view the property.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42But when he arrived in Country Durham, he was in for a shock.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The house wasn't in the town of Bishop Auckland at all.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48It was in a small village 12 miles away.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Describe to me what you felt when you walked up
0:16:54 > 0:16:56and saw the property itself.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01It was a bit remote, shall we say. It was not a place with facilities.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06It was surrounded by sheep, and a wind farm, which was very unsightly.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09So, when he said to them, "Hold on a second,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13"this is not the property I thought I was buying", what did they say?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Well, they obviously tried to gloss over it,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and that was just a mistake on the map.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21But it was no mistake.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23It seemed the company had deliberately lied
0:17:23 > 0:17:27about the location of the property to get Alan to hand over the fees.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Once you've paid £7,000 for the idea, the process of buying the house,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- it's incredibly difficult to then step back.- That's right, yes.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Alan was worried the remote location would mean the rental income
0:17:39 > 0:17:43would be much lower than the £700 a month he'd been promised.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47But the smooth-talking salesmen assured him he needn't worry.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Despite its location, I did have assurances from rental agents
0:17:51 > 0:17:54that the projected rental values could be met.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Reassured, Alan decided to go ahead.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00The house was on the market for £156,000 pounds,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04but with the company's discount, he'd only have to pay £137,000.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09All he had to do now was apply for the mortgage,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14and the company told Alan not to worry - they would take care of that for him.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17When it came to them organising paperwork for you,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19mortgage forms, things like that, how were they?
0:18:19 > 0:18:23They were acting through other people.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27They were tending to gloss over things without too much attention to the detail.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Even though I didn't know exactly what they'd written down on the form,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33and they filled them in for me over the telephone,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- I still was a little bit uneasy. - You were uncomfortable with that?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Deep down, I felt uneasy and uncomfortable,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45but overriding that to some extent was an ambition
0:18:45 > 0:18:49to get involved with what may have been a good long-term investment.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53The fraudster needs to control the mortgage application,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55because they may have to lie within it.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57They may have to inflate your salary.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So it is essential that they control everything.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06All they want is your signature and you to obtain that mortgage so they can offload their property.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12Alan's mortgage application was submitted, but unbeknown to him, parts of it had been doctored,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15including his income, which had been doubled.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Unsurprisingly, the mortgage was approved,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21and Alan soon had the keys to his new house.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Can you described to me the feelings that you were going through
0:19:27 > 0:19:31at the point where you were making these deals?
0:19:31 > 0:19:36Glad that I was able to obtain the finance for these, I was pretty pleased about that.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41And this detached house seemed to me almost a luxury I could afford.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Now the company had their claws into Alan,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47he was quickly persuaded to invest in more properties.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51I felt, I suppose subconsciously, that more than one would be
0:19:51 > 0:19:54necessary to make a difference financially.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59The company was quick to help Alan invest in two more buy-to-let properties,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01one in Manchester and one in Sheffield.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05And again, the company controlled every aspect of the deal.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09But Alan was about to get his first indication that things weren't right.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15Let's talk about the moment when you started to realise that
0:20:15 > 0:20:19things weren't stacking up with the properties that you had bought.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21It was really this first property.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It took me eight months to find a tenant, and that
0:20:24 > 0:20:29was at a rent about £200 less than I was originally hoping for.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32It was causing me extreme financial problems.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Alan was having to stump up the monthly shortfall between the rent and the mortgage.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40And it was the same story with the flats in Manchester and Sheffield.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So what had happened to the rental incomes the company had promised?
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Alan needed answers.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50I phoned them up and occasionally I called on them to try
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and find me rentals that they had promised were achievable.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57After a while, they themselves seemed to stop answering me,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00as if they were not in fact genuine agents at all.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Alan was now shelling out hundreds of pounds a month to cover
0:21:05 > 0:21:08the mortgages on his three buy-to-lets,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and as a result he was struggling to meet payments on his own home.
0:21:12 > 0:21:18The worst scenario for this is that you cannot sell the properties that you've invested in,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21you cannot cover the mortgage.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25The houses get repossessed, you lose money everywhere in that,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and, actually, you become bankrupt.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Alan had to act fast to save his own home.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34He needed to shift these buy-to-lets as soon as possible,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37but any hope of selling them on were dashed when he discovered
0:21:37 > 0:21:41all three properties were worth far less than he'd paid.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The properties had been hugely overvalued,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48and combined with a fall in property prices, Alan was now deep in
0:21:48 > 0:21:51negative equity, with the sickening realization he'd been duped.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Can you explain to me the moment where you finally realised
0:21:55 > 0:22:01that what you'd been involved in was mis-selling, was a scam?
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Well, when I got no answers from the company.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08The property company had dropped off the radar,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11and when Alan did some research, he realized he wasn't alone.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18I saw certain postings on the Internet concerning this particular company,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21where they hadn't paid back people's deposits,
0:22:21 > 0:22:26and where they had sold properties in Spain which weren't there.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30When you saw that on the Internet, what went through your mind?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34I was very annoyed, but I felt that maybe other people had
0:22:34 > 0:22:37perhaps suffered more from them than I had.
0:22:37 > 0:22:44That was really confirmation to me when I was contacted by the North Yorkshire Serious Fraud Squad.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50After receiving multiple complaints, the police hunted down and investigated
0:22:50 > 0:22:52the directors of the company.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It turned out they were also involved in another buy-to-let fraud,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and it was for this crime they were finally convicted.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04That's of little consolation to Alan, who has been saddled with
0:23:04 > 0:23:08three properties that he can't afford to keep, and can't sell.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12- What's your financial situation now? - 'It's not good at all.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17'Instead of being able to perhaps hope that the increased
0:23:17 > 0:23:20values of the properties could cover the purchase of my own home,
0:23:20 > 0:23:25there are now massive shortfalls that are deeply in negative equity.
0:23:25 > 0:23:32There is absolutely no way I can get a remortgage in my current financial situation and age,
0:23:32 > 0:23:38so I will be liable for the shortfall,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42and that will maybe mean I lose my own home.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44I feel terrible for you.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49Your house here, which is the product of your hard work
0:23:49 > 0:23:55- over many, many years, of decades, and now this is at risk.- Yes.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Because of a scam.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03So, if you're thinking of investing in buy-to-let property,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07here are some tips to avoid being scammed.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Do not use the people that they provide for you.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Use your own solicitor.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Don't get hoodwinked into using their people.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21Make your own enquiries before ever signing any of this.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22And finally...
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Go to independent estate agents,
0:24:25 > 0:24:30ask what is the going rate for rental in that area,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33ask what the current market value
0:24:33 > 0:24:37for that property is before you commit to this.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40What a nightmare.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45The very scheme that was supposed to secure Alan's house has now put that house at risk,
0:24:45 > 0:24:50and all because the checks and balances that the methodical Alan should have done
0:24:50 > 0:24:53went out the window when he thought he'd miss out.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Now, before we go, there's just time to tell you
0:25:01 > 0:25:04about some of the latest scams out there.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09I've come to meet an expert from the Financial Services Authority
0:25:09 > 0:25:12to get the low-down on what you should be looking out for.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Today, we're looking at a boiler room scam where con men clone
0:25:19 > 0:25:22the identity of a legitimate investment firm.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29So, how does that cloning work?
0:25:29 > 0:25:32A few years back, people who were running these cons used to
0:25:32 > 0:25:36just pick a plausible sounding name and tell you that they
0:25:36 > 0:25:39worked for that company, and then they'd change their name every so often.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44That stopped working as the public got much better at working out
0:25:44 > 0:25:47what a scam is, so they started checking out the FSA's register
0:25:47 > 0:25:51to see whether the firm's authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And now that people are good at doing that, the firms found that
0:25:55 > 0:26:01the only way they can scam people is to use names of real, legitimate registered companies.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04OK, that sounds quite difficult to defend yourself against,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07because if they look and sound like a company that you recognise already,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09how do you know that they aren't?
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Well, that is the clever but awful bit by the investment scammers,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16because they will go as far as ripping off a website.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20They will take an electronic image of the real firm's website,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24create their own website, and the only difference is the telephone number.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And they'll put their own telephone number on it,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29so that's the clue for the savvy investor -
0:26:29 > 0:26:32work out the switchboard number of the real, legitimate firm,
0:26:32 > 0:26:37and use that as your contact number, and then you know that you are dealing with the real firm.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40There are several ways to find the proper phone number
0:26:40 > 0:26:45for an investment firm, including a check of the FSA's website.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49And as always, be very wary of cold callers.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Fraudsters will be forever coming up with new ways to get you
0:26:52 > 0:26:58to part with your cash, but armed with a little bit of knowledge, you can be one step ahead of them.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Stay safe, and I'll see you next time.
0:27:07 > 0:27:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd