![]() “Once our investigators are on the case, they can review all ticket transactions by that individual over several years and build a case if they believe there is a pattern of criminal behaviour. “What these individuals might not realise is that, as with any electronic transaction, our systems are able to identify suspicious activity and bring it to the attention of our specialist investigators,” Mr Powles said. He was forced to pay back over £300 in an out of court settlement.įare dodgers can be prosecuted under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, but those suspected of ticket fraud are taken to court under the Fraud Act 2006. In one case they found a 22-year-old who had purchased 160 child tickets for journeys he had made. In the year to March 2023, the company investigated 108,681 reports of attempted fare evasion, issued 53,344 Penalty Fare Notices and helped secure 14,072 convictions. Northern works closely with Trainline, the most popular rail ticket retailer, to collect information on passengers’ travel habits. Set up in 2021 in response to the surge in digital ticket sales, post-pandemic, it consists of statistical analysts and investigators with a legal background. The company has established a Digital Fraud Investigation Team to look in detail at customers’ data and see if any suspicious patterns point to fraudulent activity. Northern has warned fare dodgers they are leaving a “trail of digital breadcrumbs” that is seeing them prosecute around 1,000 fraudsters every month. Ticket inspectors have also come across people who claim they have a valid digital ticket, but say they are unable to present it because their device has run out of battery.Ī reduction in the number of guards and ticket inspectors on many services has made it easier for the fraudster to avoid detection as long as they can get through station barriers or gates.īut while the anonymous nature of buying a ticket online has provided opportunities for fare dodgers, it is also giving rail companies the evidence they need to hunt down culprits. ‘Short faring’ is another popular tactic employed by fare evaders who save money by only purchasing tickets for a portion of their journey. It is known in the industry as “doughnut fraud” because while people pay a small amount at each end of the journey, there is a “hole in the middle” where they travel for free. Rail companies also have evidence of unscrupulous passengers falsely claiming they have discount railcards saving them large amounts of money when they buy tickets online.Īnother popular dodge involves a customer purchasing the lowest fare available to get them through the barriers at the beginning of the journey and lowest available to get them out the barriers at the other end. The introduction of online ticket sales means customers can now apply for refunds at the touch of a button rather than having to physically go into a ticket office and make their case to a member of staff.Īnother scam is for the devious traveller to save money by purchasing a cheaper child ticket in order to get through station barriers. One of the most common scams is for a customer, whose ticket is not checked or endorsed by an inspector, to apply for a refund claiming they never actually made the journey. Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, the second-largest rail operator in the country, said: “The old-school fare evader still exists, but there’s a new generation who try to outsmart the system through a complex process of fraudulent refund requests, delay repay claims and a process known as ‘short faring’.” The days of hiding in the toilet to avoid the ticket inspector are being replaced by an array of money-saving scams to beat the system, at a cost to rail companies of £200 million a year. ![]() Rail firms are tracking the “digital breadcrumbs” of fare dodgers who exploit loopholes in modern ticketing systems.
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