Lawyer Monthly Magazine - May 2019 Edition

10 Monthly Round-Up www. lawyer-monthly .com MAY 2019 Nearly half (47%) of peo- ple who have sold an item or service online have fall- en victim to fraud accord- ing to new Fraud Tracker data from Shieldpay. This totals some 7.5 million1 people and the financial impact is not to be under- estimated; the average amount lost to fraudsters is £2,054, with 10% of sellers defrauded by more than £5,000. While men and women are equally likely to fall victim, it’s women Artificial Intelligence plat- form, Talent Ticker, has re- vealed the impact Brexit is having on those working in the financial services industry. A review of the platform’s data has revealed an in- crease in the number of financial services compa- nies expanding to open European offices, and even completely relocat- ing from the UK in favour of offices in EU member states. While London remains a hub for the financial ser- vices industry, companies have generally shown caution in hiring in the city in recent months. Talent Ticker’s investigation has revealed a 30% increase in banks making job cuts compared to the same period in 2017 which sug- gests that the UK could be losing out as a result of Brexit. who take a greater finan- cial hit, losing an average of £544 more than men. Looking at the tactics that fraudsters employ, one in five (18%) sellers have been forced to give the buyer a refund after they said they never received the item, 13% of sellers had to refund buyers who stated that the product or service wasn’t what they expected and one in ten (11%) were defrauded by a buyer who said the For example, investment bank J.P. Morgan, for ex- ample, have reportedly made 300 employees agree to move to France or Germany in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as the firm seeks to reduce risk of disruption by a hard exit from the European Un- ion. Talent Ticker predic- tive analytics reveals that the industry is likely to see more companies follow suit. Ireland, France and Ger- many are the most promi- nent countries likely to see an influx of financial ser- vices employees accord- ing to Talent Ticker with Frankfurt the most popular destination. Luxembourg is also a likely place for re- location according to the AI platform. According to Talent Tick- er, the financial services roles most at risk of being lost to European locations include: private banking, items were damaged in the post. A further 8% of sellers weren’t fully paid for the work they com- pleted and 7% had buyers threatening to post a bad review online if they didn’t pay them money or do additional work. Tom Clementson, Direc- tor of Consumer and SMB at Shieldpay, said: “From cardigans to cars, e- commerce sites and apps have risen in popularity trading, sales, operations, middle office and Risk & Compliance. The AI platform has found that banks are relocating away from London and the UK, cutting down on costs in the UK in search of more stable and cheap alternatives. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, it is predicted that more and more financial service firms will move out of the capital to allow them to continue trading within the EU. Although many traditional financial services firms are shying away from London and the UK, other major UK cities such as Cardiff, Bristol, and Glasgow are becoming hubs for tech- nological innovation, with emerging FinTechs appearing across the UK every week. 7.5 Million Brits Fall Victim to Seller Fraud Home Office Announces Start Date for Major Changes to Tier 1 Visa Routes FRAUD BREXIT and opened up the world of buying and selling to millions more people. “However, this doesn’t come without risk. While buyer fraud is well docu- mented it’s clear that seller fraud also impacts millions of people. This isn’t right. People should feel con- fident when selling items or services online and not have to worry they will be short-changed by buyers looking to pull a fast one. “While sellers need to take Talent Ticker data shows low-cost centres such as Glasgow has seen an 80% increase in jobs created in the financial services industry. Talent Ticker founder and CEO, Nick Vaughan, says: “However Brexit unfolds, gaining access to great talent will play a big part in the future of the bank- ing world. Trends show growing consumer trust in online banking and this has enabled more emerging technologies to also enter the arena, with things such as AI and automation playing an increasingly bigger part in some responsibility, great- er protection must be put in place to safeguard sell- ers online. The adoption of increasingly sophisticated technology is one solu- tion that can help elimi- nate the risk. Shieldpay gives sellers and buyers confidence by verifying the parties and holding money for a transaction securely until all parties are happy to release the funds, enabling stress- free and safer shopping online.” banking. Most of the tal- ent who build these great products are still based in the UK and want to stay here so London will always remain as a talent power- house, globally.” “It’s now more crucial than ever that financial service companies speak to their staff to understand what is keeping them up at night. There needs to be clear internal commu- nication about whether staff are going to be af- fected. This reassurance could be the difference between keeping and losing the top players on your team.”