Since May 2011 the WSTA has catalogued over £600,000 worth of goods defrauded from wine companies through use of false email addresses and identities, generally involving impersonation of existing companies and their employees.
Typically, the fraudster identifies an established UK importer, with email address and contact details of a senior employee. They then register a similar email address and place an order with a producer or supplier in Europe for speedy delivery to an address not normally used by the UK import business, requesting payment within 30 days and claiming it is covered by export insurance. Once delivered, the criminals disappear with the goods without settling the invoice.
Working with Operation Sterling, the Metropolitan Police Service’s economic crime prevention and disruption unit, the WSTA is issuing a set of guidelines which are available at www.wsta.co.uk/images/wsfpu/fraudpreventionguide.pdf.
WSTA chief executive Jeremy Beadles said: “The feedback to the WSTA’s Fraud Prevention Unit, launched in May this year, shows that criminals targeting wine producers are increasingly using identity theft as a means of securing goods without paying for them.
“It’s vital producers are aware of the pitfalls and take steps to guard against this form of fraud.”
DCI Nick Downing, head of Operation Sterling, said: “These crimes highlight the numerous ways that fraudsters will use stolen or false IDs to commit other more serious crimes.
“The MPS is dedicated to tackling the ever changing threat of ID fraud. Businesses and members of the public can help us do this by taking simple steps to protect themselves.”