EX-HEAD OF FRAUD FOR THE METROPOLITAN POLICE JOINS WFF

This year will be the 9th anniversary of my release from prison. I came out with a mission to get involved in fraud prevention.  The first thing I was to do was create a website, as you do.  I called it RID fraud. I suppose I was a little naive back then to the size of the problem, a lot has changed since then…

RID fraud was my first attempt at breaking into the loss prevention world, although it never created any business at all! It did however elevate me into the loss prevention world and it taught me a very important lesson…TRUST.  How was I, an ex-fraudster, going to gain the trust of a world dominated by ex-police officers?

It took me over a year after my release to even spark up serious conversations with people that might see a need for my services, so I decided my first port of call would be to get in touch with a conference that specialised in fraud.

I chose Retail Fraud (now Retail Risk) to showcase what I thought at the time was an amazing presentation. I really thought I was going to gain lots of business for RID fraud, I thought the world of loss would just forgive me for what I had done. Looking back, I realise I had a lot to learn if I was going stay in this world where I feel I naturally belong.

I always knew it would be hard to gain the trust of the brands needed to make what I do a success. I just didn’t know how hard…

Joining forces with Retail Risk was great for me at the time, it really helped me understand so much that I now use in my everyday life. We hatched a master plan and - once the guys understood what I was capable of - how could we package it and sell it. We started to tap into the network of Retail Risk to invite companies to discuss with us ways we could benefit their business.

At the start I would do quirky things.  An example is for one major fraud professional, I borrowed a piece of uniform from his company and hung it up in plain sight so he would see when he walked in. I didn’t know if he would realise what I was getting at, but boy did he get it!!! He later told me that was the reason he got me in. Thank you sir for giving me the chance we done some great work together.

The trust levels were building and more and more companies were getting in touch. We did some good work, but it was never really what I would call ‘on fire’, it was more of a slow burner. In order to actually make this a career, I would need to up my game.  I then started to talk about data and how easy it was to steal if you know how, but most importantly, what I could do with it once I had stolen it.

Out of this We Fight Fraud was born.  Right from the very start we wanted We Fight Fraud to show what other companies could not, how easy it is to obtain money from stolen data.  The ‘Through the Eyes of a Criminal’ idea was born and could show this in a totally different way. From Public speaking, to advising business, to keeping consumers safe. Just like fraud, it’s something which will continue to evolve. A free-flowing company whose identity is fluid and able to adapt to the threat landscape unlike any other.

When we started We Fight Fraud, I didn’t want it to take the same route that RID fraud had taken and end up as just a nothing, an idea I have that doesn’t really impact further than me

Around a year ago I was introduced to Andy McDonald, Andy is the ex-head of fraud for the Metropolitan Police and we were both doing the same webinar for Iovation.  Andy reached out and asked if I’d like to meet up for a beer and have a chat as we are both based in Kent, we met in a local pub and we shared some ‘war’ stories. Since then, I have met Andy many times and am blown away each and every time by how much I really didn’t understand, and how professonial from a law and enforcement side Andy is. Since becoming part of We Fight Fraud Andy really adds a sense of stability to this amazing company. 

We spoke in depth about the threat landscape of fraud today and how its affecting everyone.  I had also been talking with Suzanne Raftery and James Mills, two ex-falcon ex-Scotland yard detectives about doing some stuff together.  What became very clear very quickly is that this could be an amazing coming together of exceptional fraud prevention talent, I started to feel very excited about the prospects for We Fight Fraud.

I was then off to speak at CIFAS in Manchester.  The evening before the event I was asked out to the speakers’ dinner where I met Solomon Gilbert.  For those of you that don’t know Solomon, at 16 he stole over two million credit card details through web site vulnerability, today he is a shining star at the NCA often making everyone think outside the box.

For me Solomon was the holy grail, a hacker who has actually hacked and been arrested who is now working in loss prevention. Solomon is not a criminal, he has Asperger’s so loves to solve puzzles and sees patterns, those same puzzles and patterns the fraudsters see and exploit. He can be the key to changing the threat landscape in the future. Solomon will now be heading up cyber at We Fight Fraud.

Justin Bentley is now our GDPR and compliance specialist.  Justin brings a whole new dimension to We Fight Fraud and is a total expert in his field, he has worked in Global, National and local businesses including managed services & Government/MOD which allows him to complete any puzzle putting all the pieces in the right place.

People from both side of the law, will be saying to us, what are you doing working together? My answer to that has always been the same. I am not pretending to help fight fraud, I really mean it, it’s something I am totally passionate about. This is a real opportunity to understand fraud, both how and why from a perspective that has just never been available before.

We aim to raise awareness of fraud on all levels, from corporate to governments and consumers. With nearly 150 years of combined fraud knowledge from both sides of the law, no other company on the planet can give you both our insight and the solutions needed.

It has taken me a long time to get here, I have had to learn so much over these last 9 years.  The corporate world speaks many different languages and none are like the ones from where I come. The message We Fight Fraud is sending today can be understood either side. We are serious about fraud prevention.

If you would like to know more about what We Fight Fraud can do for your business, then have a look at our website, www.wefightfraud.org and send us an email to [email protected] to request our digital e-leaflet.