Business
Fraud victims are being failed by justice system, warn charities
Dan WhitworthStockton-on-Tees
BBCVictims of fraud are being failed by the criminal justice system, charities are warning, as new analysis suggests only a fraction of reports result in a prosecution.
There were 1.2 million recorded cases of fraud in England and Wales in the 12 months to June, data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows.
But in the same time frame fewer than 13,000 cases were prosecuted, Ministry of Justice figures show.
Wayne Stevens, the national lead for fraud at charity Victim Support, said: “Our experience is that victims get a pretty poor deal from the criminal justice system as a whole.” The Home Office said it would publish “an ambitious fraud strategy in the New Year.”
Joan Holdaway, 85, shared her experience as part of the BBC’s Scam Safe Week from 22 to 28 November.
She had £1,000 stolen after being bombarded with phonecalls from fraudsters using photos of celebrities to promote their investment scam online.
“It was very upsetting,” said Ms Holdaway. “All I kept thinking about was how I was going to eke out the money that I’d still got. Then I kept thinking ‘I’m not going to get this back, I know I’m not.'”
She contacted the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, Action Fraud, which put her in touch with Cleveland Police. Officers referred her to the Victim Care and Advice Service which helped her to be reimbursed by her bank under fraud rules introduced just over a year ago.
Known as the mandatory reimbursement requirement it obliges banks to refund most victims of push payment fraud – when victims are tricked and manipulated into transferring money to criminals themselves.
No one has been prosecuted in Ms Holdaway’s case and she told the BBC the emotional and mental impact had been tremendous.
“It’s made me very, very suspicious. You just cannot sleep properly and it’s just on your mind all the time. All I was doing was avoiding ever speaking to anyone again.
“I don’t think you ever get over it really… I think it stays with you… and you wonder anybody that you don’t know, are they who they say they are? It’s really dreadful.”
Mr Stevens said Victim Support was concerned people were not taken seriously when they report fraud to the bank or police.
“If the fraud has an international dimension the fraud often isn’t investigated,” he said.
“Until recently victims often didn’t get reimbursed the money that was lost to criminals.”
He said Victim Support was calling for improved campaigns to raise public awareness about the real risks of fraud. It also called for greater cooperation between banks and social media companies where fraud can take place.
UK Finance, which represents the banking industry, said: “Protecting customers is a top priority and banks invest billions in advanced systems to help detect and stop fraud happening in the first place.”
The Home Office said in a statement fraud was “a serious and damaging crime that can affect anyone, at any time, and we are determined to bring those responsible to justice”.
A spokesperson added: “In the new year we will publish an ambitious Fraud Strategy, which will reduce fraud, target offenders and protect victims.”
One charity in Stockton-on-Tees is on the front line in the fight against fraud offering help, support and advice for thousands of victims every year.
Dave Mead helps run the Victim Care and Advice Service, VCAS.
“A big, big chunk of our work and some of our most challenging work is fraud,” he said. “The figures are eye-watering. We’re contacting between 500 to 800 victims of fraud every month.
“The vast majority of victims don’t report fraud [and] we find some. But we’ve got to get into the communities through elderly groups, faith groups, youth groups.
“We’ve got to raise the conversation.”
Vicky Beaumont is an advice and support worker for VCAS.
“To be honest, even though I help people and speak to people day in day out, it’s still hard to see them [victims] relive that emotion.
“[But] it’s so rewarding, it’s such a good job to do to be able to support people like that and get great results for them. I would do this all day everyday.”
BBC’s Scam Safe Week content across BBC TV, Radio, iPlayer, Sounds and Online from 22 to 28 November 2025
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Angel One sets Feb 26 as record date for 1:10 stock split. Shareholders will get 10 shares for each held.
Angel One Stock Split 2026
Angel One Stock Split Record Date: Domestic brokerage firm Angel One has fixed February 26 as the record date for its previously approved 1:10 stock split, moving ahead with a proposal cleared by its Board last month.
The company had earlier informed stock exchanges on Jan. 15 that its Board of Directors approved the sub-division of equity shares in a 1:10 ratio.
Board Approval For Share Sub-Division
Under the approved proposal, each fully paid-up equity share with a face value of Rs 10 will be split into 10 fully paid-up equity shares with a face value of Re 1 each.
In its Jan. 15 stock exchange filing, the company stated that the Board had approved the sub-division of one existing equity share of face value Rs 10, fully paid-up, into 10 equity shares of face value Re 1 each, fully paid-up. The move is aimed at increasing the number of outstanding shares and improving liquidity in the counter.
Stock splits typically make shares more affordable for retail investors by reducing the market price per share, although the overall market capitalization of the company remains unchanged.
Feb 26 Fixed As Record Date
In a subsequent filing dated Feb. 18, Angel One confirmed that its executive committee has fixed Thursday, Feb. 26, as the record date to determine eligible shareholders for the stock split.
The record date serves as the cut-off to identify shareholders who will be entitled to receive the additional shares. Investors holding the stock on or before Feb. 26 will qualify for the sub-division benefit.
What The Stock Split Means For Investors
Shareholders will receive 10 equity shares for every one share currently held. While the face value per share will reduce from Rs 10 to Re 1, the total value of an investor’s holdings will remain unchanged, as the split does not alter ownership percentage or overall wealth.
Angel One Q3 FY26: Profit Dips Amid Higher Costs
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Angel One reported a 4.5% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 269 crore, compared with Rs 281.5 crore in the same quarter last year.
However, total income rose 5.8% to Rs 1,338 crore from Rs 1,264 crore in Q3 FY25. Total expenses increased to Rs 964.2 crore from Rs 876.5 crore, primarily due to higher employee benefit costs, elevated ESOP expenses, and increased operating expenditure.
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Households are set to learn their energy bills will fall by around 7% from April in a shake-up of costs after the Government promised they will receive an average £150 cut.
Latest predictions suggest Ofgem will reduce the energy price cap by £117 to £1,641 a year for a typical dual fuel household from April 1 when it makes its announcement on Wednesday.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in November that £150 would be cut from the average household bill from April by scrapping the Energy Company Obligation scheme introduced by the Tories in government.
Customers have been warned not to expect a straight £150 discount on their bills, and that the cut will depend on the size and type of household and how much energy it uses.
The reduction is expected to be primarily applied through a lower price per unit of electricity used, with households advised to look out for information from their supplier explaining this after the price cap announcement.
Cornwall Insight said the changes will reduce the cap by about £145 a year once VAT and pricing allowances within the cap methodology are taken into account.
It added that increases in charges associated with the operation and maintenance of Britain’s energy networks have offset part of the savings.
Wholesale prices had also risen slightly since its last forecast in December, with the cost of gas particularly volatile due to “geopolitical factors”.
Looking further ahead, Cornwall said wholesale costs were still lower than when Ofgem set the January cap level and it expected the cap to remain “relatively steady” throughout 2026, “with only a small rise forecast in July”.
Ned Hammond, deputy director of customer policy at Energy UK, which represents firms, said: “At a time when many households are struggling with their bills, action taken by the Government to provide a considerable discount on energy bills is hugely welcome.
“While the saving will be £150 for the average household, it is important to note that the discount is applied to the unit rate.
“Therefore, households will experience significantly different savings depending on their energy consumption, some much higher and others substantially lower than £150.
“In addition, other moving parts, such as network charges and wholesale costs, mean energy bills will not necessarily fall in line with the saving provided.
“Indeed, the price cap is projected to drop by around £115 from April 1.”
Which? energy editor Emily Seymour said: “Households can expect a significant cut to their energy bills in April, which will come as a relief to millions of people struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
“The bulk of this change is expected to be applied to your electricity price per unit, so your exact savings will depend on your usage; look out for communications from your energy provider in the coming weeks to see how it will affect your bills.”
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, urged households to note the changes in unit costs and standing charges, rather than focus on the headline “average energy bill”.
He said: “We know that energy bills can be confusing and trying to decide when to switch tariffs or change supplier is a big decision which can overwhelm people.
“As well as setting the price cap, Ofgem should play a greater role in ensuring that the tariffs reaching the market are fair and don’t discriminate against specific customer groups.
“Sadly the responsibility currently falls to households to pay careful attention to any changes in their unit costs and standing charges.”
A Lucid Gravity coming off the line at the company’s factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Lucid Group reported mixed fourth-quarter results Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker continues to face challenging market conditions and internal struggles.
The company widely missed Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations, while beating average revenue estimates by roughly 12%. It also revised its 2025 production results due to internal validation issues, but guided for a notable increase in vehicle production this year.
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Loss per share: $3.62 vs. a loss of $2.62 cents expected
- Revenue: $523 million vs. $468 million expected
Lucid’s results come days after the company laid off 12% of its U.S. salaried workforce in an effort to streamline operations and “operate with greater efficiency and deliver on our commitments to gross margin improvement and long term growth,” according to a statement from the company.
Interim Lucid CEO Marc Winterhoff described the cuts Tuesday to CNBC as a needed realignment of the company’s workforce amid broader market and economic concerns as well as needed gains in efficiency.
“We are adjusting and going to a level where we think we want to be and need to be,” he said. “But it’s nothing that will continue in the future.”
For 2026, the company announced a vehicle production target of between 25,000 and 27,000 units. That would mark an increase of roughly 40% to 51% compared with the year-end figures the company released Tuesday.
Lucid said the revision for the year — from 18,378 units to 17,840 units — came as “538 vehicles had not completed certain internal procedures required under its final validation process to be classified as produced.”
The company said the vehicles are expected to be completed this year, with the change not affecting its previously reported financial results.
Winterhoff described the expected growth as “healthy,” but not “outrageous” given the current slowdown in overall vehicle sales, including EVs.
“Our initial plans were higher, but we wanted to really be conservative and make sure that we are hitting the numbers that we are projecting,” he told CNBC.
Lucid is expected to begin production of a new, less expensive midsize vehicle at the end of this year, but Winterhoff said it will not be material to its 2026 production plans. He said the automaker’s Gravity SUV is expected to account for the majority of its production and sales this year, followed by the Air sedan. The company also plans to launch its first Lucid robotaxis with previously announced partners.
Winterhoff said the company’s main priorities this year are achieving its production target, growing sales, continuing efficiency gains and preparing for production of the midsize vehicle and robotaxis.
“We really want to make sure that we [are] on our path to profitability, make sure that we’re not spending money that we don’t have to. That’s very, very important,” he told CNBC.
Lucid has yet to say when the company expects to be profitable. It is scheduled to host an investor day on March 12 in New York.
Lucid said it ended last year with approximately $4.6 billion in total liquidity, which Lucid CFO Taoufiq Boussaid said was “strong” and would provide flexibility “to execute near-term objectives while investing in future growth.”
Lucid reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2025, in line with a $2.71 billion loss a year earlier. That includes more than doubling its year-over-year losses during the fourth quarter to $814 million. It reported a loss of $12.09 per share for the year.
The company’s 2025 revenue was up 68% to $1.35 billion, including more than doubling year-over-year results during the fourth quarter.
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