ON-LINE counterfeits

UK police took the unusual step of shutting down 1,200 websites set up to fleece customers or to sell counterfeit items. People looking for discounted stuff like Ugg boots, hair-straighteners or jewellery were getting either nothing or shoddy imitations for their cash. 'Operation Papworth' was launched to stop the criminal use of uk.co domain names. Read about it here. Police said organised criminal gangs were involved in the trade whose used the funds raised to finance other dodgy activities. It the first police operation of its kind. Now for those .com, .org, .tv...

INHERITANCE fraud

Irish fraudster Francis Fallon (left) was jailed in the UK yesterday for seven years after he forged Land Registry records to get his hands on the property of recently deceased people. The County Cork man tried to claim ownership to the estates of 14 dead people who he said he had been friends with. He even concocted fictitious witness statements to back up his stories. His 76-year-old accomplice Richard Carr had his sentencing deferred after the court was told he went on the run. Read the story here.