Fraud

The police do not deal with benefit fraud, the Benefits Agency prosecute their own cases.

If you suspect someone of committing benefit fraud then contact the National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

You can also report suspected benefit fraud online or by post.

A cheque can be 'bounced' for a number of reasons which include:

• insufficient funds in the account it's being drawn on,
• it has been cancelled by the drawer (the person who wrote the cheque) or
• a technical reason (unsigned, wrong date, amount etc)
• fraud (maybe it is a stolen cheque).

Usually, if a cheque is 'bounced' the banking institution will write further instructions on the cheque such as 'Refer to Drawer Re-present' or 'Refer to drawer'.

If it states 'Refer to Drawer Re-present' then you can re-present the cheque again up to a maximum of 3 times although the bank does usually re-present the cheque before sending it back to you. Your bank may charge a fee for this.

If it states 'Refer to Drawer' then the cheque is effectively cancelled and cannot be re-presented. You need to get another cheque from the person or get them to give you cash.

If someone you do not know sends you a cheque then you should wait until it has cleared before drawing out the money or releasing any goods.

Be very clear when speaking to your bank about what you mean. The bank may allow you to draw funds on the cheque before it has cleared so should the cheque subsequently bounce you will be out of pocket.

When you speak to the bank about a cheque clearing, make sure they are aware that you mean that there is no danger of the cheque being returned unpaid and it has been honoured. The only way to really ensure that a cheque has been paid is to ask your bank to 'specially present' the cheque, there will be a charge for this and it may vary from bank to bank. If the cheque is a small amount then it may not be worthwhile but if it is a substantial amount and you are releasing goods then it could be beneficial.

If you suspect that a fraud has taken place then you should notify your bank who will advise you to report the matter to your local police station

Fraud is a common law offence in Scotland and it covers a wide variety of activities.

Essentially a fraud will be committed when someone makes a false representation to another in order to gain from that. For example if you steal a chequebook and then try to pay for goods in a shop with a cheque then you will commit a fraud as you are falsely claiming to be the person named on the chequebook.

You can contact Police Scotland in order to report fraud via their non-emergency number: 101.

Alternatively you can contact Police Scotland via their online reporting form.

Thousands of British Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj in October, which involves millions of pounds being spent on travel and accommodation. Unfortunately for some Muslims, this is shattered by fraudsters who trick them into thinking they have paid for a tour package for themselves and their families. They offer fraudulent flights, accommodation and visas - with some Muslims arriving in Saudi Arabia to find that their trip does not exist and is in fact a scam.

Below are a few tips to help protect yourself and your family against Hajj Fraud:

• Make sure you research the companies you are using; don't book anything without carrying some basic checks on the travel company.
• Check whether the travel company you want to use is a member of a recognised body (e.g. ABTA).
• If you are booking flights, make sure that the company is ATOL (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) protected by the Civil Aviation Authority.
• Make sure you get all bookings confirmed in writing.
• DO NOT pay by cash or direct bank transfer into an individual's account. This makes it extremely difficult to recover your money.

If you are the victim of Hajj Fraud, you should report this Police Scotland, either via 101 or via their online reporting form.

Please see the links in Related Information for other useful websites.