A THURROCK-based bus company has been at the forefront of action to thwart a major fraud that has nationwide implications.

Ensignbus, which is based at Purfleet and runs services linking Thurrock, North Kent and Southend, has identified a previously unknown payment fraud which it says has cost it more than £10,000 and other companies across the UK huge amounts.

The fraud involves use of the Apple and Google Pay systems and, as a temporary measure while a remedy to the fraud is worked out, Ensignbus – in common with other companies – has now stopped taking payments on both systems of more than £10. (More information can be viewed via this link.)

"We apologise for the inconvenience," Ensign's operations manager Ryan Scott told Thurrock Nub News, " but unfortunately we cannot afford to sustain a loss of this size due to a criminal activity. We are working as best we can with the police, fraud authorities, payment system operators and other companies to find a solution as soon as possible.

"We have taken a lead on this situation, possibly being the first company to recognise what was happening and it is something that is now being taken very seriously across the country. It's a credit to our team of people that they were able to pick up on the scam.

"Basically the criminals have found a way to take advantage of the systems transaction process and stop payments being taken all together. We have also seen cases of buying bus passes which they then resell at a much lower price to local users.

"We know it will only be a few people who take advantage of it, most of our customers are law-abiding and honest and it is a shame that we have had to put this temporary restriction in place, but I am sure most people will understand why we have had to do it – and at the end of the day it is not only vital bus services that we are protecting, we are protecting security of people's accounts.

"We don't like putting restrictions on and making things a little harder and inconvenient for some customers. However, we have little choice as we cannot afford to sustain a rising loss that has already reached £10,000."