One of the defining characteristics of mature consumer markets is not simply the abundance of products, but the quality of consumer decision-making. Across sectors, rising financial awareness, easier access to information and digital discovery are changing what people choose to buy and how they
Imagine reaching retirement with a bond portfolio that works like a staircase. One bond matures this year, another next year, and another the year after, giving you access to money at different points instead of having to unlock the entire investment at once
Augmont Enterprises IPO Day 2: The initial public offering (IPO) of integrated gold and silver platform Augmont Enterprises Ltd is witnessing its second day of bidding today, August 24. So far, the public issue has been subscribed 2.88 times. The Rs 825-crore IPO
Gold prices remain high in India; check 22K, 24K rates in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru International gold prices also climbed to a more than three-month high on Monday. Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 13:46:24 IST By HT News Desk Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Gold prices remained high in India on
Businesses from India and the U.S. have expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh and made proposals to improve the country's investment climate, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir has said. Mr. Muktadir’s remarks on Saturday (August 22
UK text scammers make tens of thousands a month - and spend it on designer shoes and bags
Text scammers make tens of thousands a month - and spend it on designer shoes and bags
They don't keep money, they spend it here and now.
Det Ch Insp Paul Curtis is showing us around an evidence room piled high with designer shoes and handbags. Thousands of items are neatly stacked in plastic containers on wooden shelves.
The items here have been seized from financial fraudsters, some of whom send scam texts - known as smishing - to victims.
"They like to live a lavish lifestyle," says Curtis. "We have got somewhere between 8,500 and 10,000 items of evidence in this one room," he says, something that is "the result of house searches and raids" carried out by officers.
The smell of fresh leather goods pervades the air. Brightly coloured Gucci stilettos catch the eye from a distance; it's a treasure trove of top-label kit worth tens of thousands of pounds.
These purchases are an indication of how much cash they're making from their crimes and what they're spending it on.
The term "smishing" is a combination of "SMS", or "short message service" - the technology behind text messages - and "phishing".
Fraudsters send fake text messages - apparently from a bank or other trusted company - to trick people into disclosing personal information such as passwords and Pin numbers. The intention is to defraud them out of their money.
Curtis is part of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit - a team made up of officers from the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police service.
Although they're London police forces, the unit has a national remit, and is sponsored by the banking industry. It focuses on combating financial fraud.
"In a recent smishing case of ours, the defendant was sentenced on the basis of sending 15,000 messages in a five day period. That equated to making a hundred thousand pounds a month," he says.
The senior officer was talking about Ruichen Xiong, a student from China who was convicted of the crime after driving around London in March of this year, sending messages to tens of thousands of potential victims.
Xiong was sentenced to 58 weeks in prison at Inner London Crown Court in June after pleading guilty to fraud by representation.
According to Ofcom, half of UK mobile users said they received a suspicious message between November 2024 and February 2025 via text or iMessage.
Gideon Rabinowitz, 64, lives in Newbury, Berkshire, and is a recent victim of smishing.
Just two months ago, the former IT manager said he was cheated out of more than a thousand pounds after receiving a fraudulent text message.
"I felt like a massive fool, like I'd been violated," he says.
It really shook me. For a number of days after it really left me quite shaken. I felt very vulnerable and I don't know who to trust now.
Mr Rabinowitz was led to believe he was being contacted by his bank who were reporting a suspicious payment on his account.
In reality, he was being messaged by a scammer.
It started with a text out of the blue asking if I recognised a transaction - yes or no. Two and half hours later I was out of pocket by £1400.
He adds: "In part it was about the money and it was also this feeling of being defrauded, of being looked up, because these people knew who I was. They knew where I live".
Scam text messages often pretend to be from large companies such as utility companies, banks or supermarkets. They usually include a link. Once the person clicks on it, they can be sent to a fraudulent website and asked for personal and financial information. The information can then be used to convince them to transfer money from their account.
Smishing is primarily done through two devices; a Sim farm which holds multiple Sim cards, allowing criminals to bombard people with thousands of scam texts.
The second is what's called an SMS Blaster. It tricks mobiles nearby into connecting with it, and then sends large numbers of fraudulent texts in a matter of seconds.
The government says "smishing scams have a devastating impact on their victims".
"Our Telecoms Charter sets out clear action to secure SMS and reduce fraud across the telecoms sector".
"We are also banning Sim farms. Banning these devices used to send thousands of scam texts will close down a key tool for criminals and safeguard consumers," it says.
The ban is expected to come into effect late next year. It will make the possession or supply of Sim farms, without a specified reason, illegal.
One cyber expert said smishing was a difficult crime to solve and that there needs to be more education around fraudulent text messages.
"Smishing in and of itself is very hard to police because a lot of it comes from abroad and, even when it's done from within the UK it's very easy to do and hard to trace, " says Ciaran Martin, the former Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre.
"So while the police can sometimes take down big operations, we shouldn't look to the police as the strategic answer for this.
"The strategic answer is for people to understand that serious businesses don't ask you for money by text, and for businesses to find better ways of interacting with customers and verifying that interaction".
The advice from police is simple: do not click on the links in any unsolicited messages you receive.
If you believe you're a victim of fraud, report to Action Fraud, report to your bank, and forward the message to 7726 so the mobile networks can investigate further.
For more information go to bbc.co.uk/scamsafe where you can find a selection of resources
If you have been scammed or defrauded, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
Source: BBC
Related Posts: Bussiness
Minimalistic retractable door handles became a signature feature of electric vehicles (EVs), but the controversial designs are now at the centre of China's biggest car recall, affecting more than 4 million vehicles. The recall, which includes 2.98 million Chinese-made Teslas
11 hours ago
Tempsens Instruments India IPO Day 3: The initial public offering (IPO) of temperature sensing and heating solutions provider Tempsens Instruments Ltd is witnessing its final day of bidding today, August 24. So far, the public issue has been subscribed by a strong 31.34 times. The Rs 650-crore IPO
11 hours ago
S&P 500 just hit a level seen only once before in 155 years — could a market crash be next? The S&P 500 CAPE ratio hit 40 for only the second time in 155 years, raising concerns about valuations, future returns and a possible market correction. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
15 hours ago
Anthropic $2 trillion IPO: Why investors think it could be worth more than SpaceX Anthropic could reach a $2 trillion IPO valuation as revenue surges, raising questions about whether the AI company can be worth more than SpaceX. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
15 hours ago
US President Donald Trump has said Canada wants "the benefits of being a State, without being one" after trade talks between the two countries collapsed late on Friday. In his first comments since negotiations broke down, triggering new 50% US tariffs on a range of Canadian goods
1 days ago
India’s payments sector has raised $5.8 billion across 371 equity funding rounds since January 2021, while producing eight initial public offerings (IPOs) and triggering 25 acquisitions, as the industry increasingly consolidates around a handful of well-funded players
1 days ago
Can Reddit survive in the AI era? It wants more cash for its data—and more of people’s time Published on: Aug 22, 2026, 16:40:48 IST The Economist Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Earlier this summer “Backrooms”, a horror flick, became one of the most successful independent films ever
1 days ago
What with a 250th birthday, Taylor Swift's wedding and the football World Cup, Americans could be forgiven for taking their eye off the ball this summer. But signs of economic trouble have been building. This week they hit the headlines when US national debt passed the $40tn (£29.4tn) mark
1 days ago
Insurance regulator IRDAI has directed Edelweiss Life Insurance and Pramerica Life Insurance, in separate orders on August 20, not to open new place of business for six months for non-compliance with Expenses of Management (EoM) limits in 2024-25
2 days ago
India remains a very attractive destination for global investments and its economic fundamentals form the basis for strong investor confidence, Jyoti Jeetun, the Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning of Mauritius told The Hindu in an interview
2 days ago
A fresh wave of US tariffs on a wide array of Canadian goods has come into effect as of midnight on Saturday after a last minute break down in trade talks. Announcing the suspension of negotiations shortly before the Friday night deadline, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would impose
2 days ago
TCS Employee Surveillance Row: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services company, on Friday denied reports that it is using monitoring tools to track individual employee activity on company-issued laptops. The IT giant said the purpose of the tools is to monitor the overall
2 days ago
Walmart stock falls 9% as retailer finally brings Apple Pay, Google Pay Walmart stock fell 9% after earnings despite beating estimates and raising guidance. The retailer will add Apple Pay and Google Pay Tap to Pay from August 24. Updated on: Aug 21, 2026
2 days ago
TikTok has agreed to pay $400m (£293m) to the US to end a lawsuit alleging its platform violated children‘s privacy, marking one of the largest ever settlements over the issue. The deal stems from a 2024 suit by the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden alleging TikTok and its
2 days ago
What’s next for Nvidia after the AI chip boom? Wall Street wants more—here’s what investors need to know Nvidia stock faces high expectations ahead of August 26 earnings as Wall Street watches AI growth, valuation, open-source models and Nvidia's next big story. Updated on: Aug 22, 2026
2 days ago
Costco dividend rises: Why a $10,000 investment pays only $61 yearly A $10,000 Costco investment earns only about $61 a year in regular dividends. Here’s why investors still buy COST for growth and special dividends. Updated on: Aug 20, 2026
3 days ago
Leaving education, getting a job, buying a home and perhaps starting a family: the path previous generations followed may seem a distant dream to many now. But is it getting a bit easier - at least when it comes to getting on the housing ladder? Today's prospective first-time buyers may well feel
3 days ago
Nearly six months after US President Donald Trump vowed a swift victory over Iran, the conflict appears to be at a standstill, with prospects of a military victory or negotiated settlement growing dimmer. To break the deadlock, Trump has vowed an "economic D-Day" under which any country that does
3 days ago
Why US stocks fell today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop as oil and bond yields rise US stocks fell as oil prices and Treasury yields rose. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped as Trump's Iran threat, Walmart and the bond market hit Wall Street. Published on: Aug 20, 2026
3 days ago
Crypto stocks surge as Trump backs Clarity Act: Coinbase, Circle, miners rise Crypto stocks surge as Trump backs the Clarity Act. Coinbase, Circle, Bitcoin miners and other crypto shares rise as investors expect clearer US crypto rules. Updated on: Aug 20, 2026
4 days ago
Stock Market Today, August 20: The domestic equity market snapped its seven-day losing streak and ended sharply higher on Thursday, August 20, as broad-based buying lifted sentiment across sectors after the US Treasury stepped in to contain the surge in global bond yields
4 days ago
The Reserve Bank of India RBI has accorded its approval to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for acquiring an aggregate holding of up to 9.99% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in HDFC Bank Ltd., the bank said in a filing with the exchanges on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) night
4 days ago
Customers have shared their outrage after an app used by many businesses to track timesheets and produce invoices hiked bills by as much as 1500%, with one person calling it "daylight robbery". Richard Haldenby, head of UK consultancy firm Salentis
4 days ago
Bitcoin Price Today, August 20: Bitcoin surged to the $70,000 mark on Thursday, recording one of its sharpest gains in recent months as a combination of lower US Treasury yields, a weaker dollar, strong institutional demand and large-scale short liquidations pushed the broader cryptocurrency market
4 days ago
US President Donald Trump has said he will launch tougher economic measures against Iran, as well as any country and that helps or does business with the country. He wrote in all capital letters on Truth Social that he was launching "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any
4 days ago
The domestic equity markets were trading firmly higher on Thursday, August 20, with buying visible across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks. The gains strengthened through the session, with the benchmark Sensex rising more than 600 points by 1:20 pm
4 days ago
U.S. President Donald Trump will host cryptocurrency executives at the White House on Wednesday as U.S. financial regulators this week prepare to advance their framework for certain digital assets. Trump, who has earned more than $1.4 billion from his family’s crypto ventures
4 days ago
