In this episode of When Technology Goes Wrong, host Paddy Dhanda sits down with financial crime expert Graham Barrow to expose a chilling case of corporate vulnerability and criminal ingenuity.
What began as a corporate data breach spiraled into a massive fraud operation. Using stolen HR data, criminals created over 2,000 fake companies - many with names like “Camilla’s Cake Shop” or “Harry’s Hairdressers” - to exploit the UK’s lax company registration system.
Graham, co-host of The Dark Money Files and co-founder of Risk Alert 24/7, walks us through how he uncovered the scam, the ripple effects on victims, and why the UK is uniquely vulnerable to this kind of fraud.
What you'll learn:
How criminals used stolen employee data to create fake companies
Why corporate bank accounts are easier to exploit than personal ones
The psychological toll on victims—including threats to their families
How the UK’s Companies House system enables fraud
What regulators and tech leaders must do to fix it
Guest spotlight:
Graham Barrow is a financial crime specialist and co-host of The Dark Money Files. He’s spent years uncovering fake companies and exposing the loopholes that criminals exploit in the UK’s corporate system.
Memorable quote:
“Criminals aren’t interested in stealing data—they’re interested in what the data can do for them.” – Graham Barrow
Resources:
🎙 The Dark Money Files Podcast
🔍 Risk Alert 24/7
🎧 Listen now on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your platform of choice.
If you found the episode valuable, please subscribe, rate, and share.
Share this post