Fraud Investigations Email

[ChineseElf]

Hello everyone, I am looking for advice on what to do next. Thank you for your time and sorry for the long post.

I recently received an email by Fraud.Investigations@greateranglia.co.uk saying that they are led to believe I am potentially not paying full fares on Greater Anglia services. After reading through the forum it seems like my 2 options are either paying the fine or ignoring the email as a whole. Unfortunately, upon receiving the email, I did not do sufficient research / post a thread for help and made the rash decision of replying to the email asking for more specifics concerning the tickets in question with my "Reference Number" included. (I would choose to ignore it now, after reading more on this issue)

(Images attached are the emails sent to and by me)

Information to paint the picture:

1.) I have been avoiding paying the full fares on GA services.
2.) I have recently come to the UK for University. Since January, I normally go from "Station A" to Stratford (using my travel pass) and then to Chelmsford on some Weekends, as I do not have to tap out, I just change trains and buy a ticket from Hatfield Peverel which is only 1 station away from Chelmsford to minimize the price.
3.) Ever since I came, I have a total of 3 round trips to Chelmsford, meaning 6 trips in total. 4 of which were using the "fraud" method.
4.) However, I've also been to the UK during May 2024 and Dec 2023 both around 2 weeks each, during which I also used the "fraud" method on GA services.
5.) I am a student on student VISA.
6.) I have been caught once before but they never took down any of my details, they just gave me a "pass" after I bought the correct ticket, this was back in May 2024.

Questions:

1.) Now that I have replied, I am unsure if I am now "forced" to make the payment or if ignoring the subsequent emails are still an option? Which do you suggest I do?
2.) If i pay, it would mean i owned up to my mistakes, since I am on student VISA, will I somehow be deported since I have now owned up, so would it be better if I just ignored?
3.) If i choose to pay, will they make me pay the full price of one single ticket or the difference of price between the ticket I bought and the actual ticket I was supposed to buy? *(+£150 for the Investigation Fee)
4.) If I were to pay, would they check all my previous tickets and have me pay for those tickets in 2024 and 2023 as well?
5.) Is there a limit to how far back they can check in my transaction history?
6.) Is this not what many people in the UK do? If so, should I continue doing so using another account and ignore the emails this time instead? or Maybe even the original account? I'm open to suggestions, paying the full price is fine as well, just want to know what you guys think.


(This section is just for fun, if you wish, please do comment your opinions on my suspicions as well, I would love to learn more about how the system works!)

My Suspicions:

1.) This is likely a fishing email to get me to incriminate myself, and ignoring this email would have been the best choice I could make.
2.) I'm not too sure about this, but I have read on this forum that GA's main focus is to focus at the minute people buy tickets using an app when on board the train which is what I have been doing recently, which may have been the cause of this email being sent to me. I derived this due to the fact that I only recently got caught. When I used to do it back in 2023 and 2024, I have always bought the tickets ahead of time and not on the train itself (which is what I have recently been doing).

Once again, I apologize for the extremely long thread

 

[furlong]

Firstly, stop what you are doing. Take no more chances and always buy the right ticket before starting the journey from now on.

If you ignore this email and continue what you are doing, you should expect the next step will be that one day, out of the blue, they will decide to host a welcoming party for you (and probably some other people at the same time). Caught red-handed and possibly selected for a fraud prosecution - given that they know you read the email they sent because you replied yet you had continued doing it.

 

[notmyrealname]

Is this not what many people in the UK do?

I'd be interested to know where you learned this. The majority of people in the UK pay the right fare but they're paying more because of people evading their fares.

I don't mean to lecture you but I think it's worth bearing in mind that you're a guest in the UK and you don't want anything to affect your visa. Out of interest, what happens to fare evaders in your country please?

 

[TheJester]

Is this not what many people in the UK do?

Really no. The vast majority of the rail users are honest and do not try to defraud the railway.

 

[6Gman]

Hello everyone, I am looking for advice on what to do next. Thank you for your time and sorry for the long post.

I recently received an email by Fraud.Investigations@greateranglia.co.uk saying that they are led to believe I am potentially not paying full fares on Greater Anglia services. After reading through the forum it seems like my 2 options are either paying the fine or ignoring the email as a whole.

What do you mean by "paying the fine"?

Have they offered you a settlement?

 

[saismee]

I have always bought the tickets ahead of time and not on the train itself (which is what I have recently been doing).

Don't buy tickets on the train on GA outside of Norwich or Ipswich branches! Any services terminating at or coming from London Liverpool Street are on penalty fare routes and you may be given a penalty fare (100 pounds + the price of the ticket). Buy the ticket before getting on the train (this applies to other operators too).

The post also has no images attached, what did you actually say in your email?

 

[ChineseElf]

Thanks all.

Firstly, stop what you are doing. Take no more chances and always buy the right ticket before starting the journey from now on.

If you ignore this email and continue what you are doing, you should expect the next step will be that one day, out of the blue, they will decide to host a welcoming party for you (and probably some other people at the same time). Caught red-handed and possibly selected for a fraud prosecution - given that they know you read the email they sent because you replied yet you had continued doing it.

Is this not what many people in the UK do?

I'd be interested to know where you learned this. The majority of people in the UK pay the right fare but they're paying more because of people evading their fares.

I don't mean to lecture you but I think it's worth bearing in mind that you're a guest in the UK and you don't want anything to affect your visa. Out of interest, what happens to fare evaders in your country please?

@furlong Yes, I too feel that I should stop what I'm doing. But what I meant by ignoring the email was more of ignoring it but start buying the correct tickets instead, ignoring to avoid the "penalty.

@notmyrealname I just heard from friends etc. that it's something people tend to do, I guess it was misinformation. For your question about fare evaders in my country, I am honestly not too sure as 99% of people just pay for transport. But I would assume they'll be made to pay a fine as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Mar 2025 ==

What do you mean by "paying the fine"?

Have they offered you a settlement?

Don't buy tickets on the train on GA outside of Norwich or Ipswich branches! Any services terminating at or coming from London Liverpool Street are on penalty fare routes and you may be given a penalty fare (100 pounds + the price of the ticket). Buy the ticket before getting on the train (this applies to other operators too).

The post also has no images attached, what did you actually say in your email?

@6Gman No they haven't, I'm currently waiting on them for a reply.
@saismee Thanks for that information! Totally forgot to add the images, I will edit my original post, thanks for the heads up!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone, I am looking for advice on what to do next. Thank you for your time and sorry for the long post.

I recently received an email by Fraud.Investigations@greateranglia.co.uk saying that they are led to believe I am potentially not paying full fares on Greater Anglia services. After reading through the forum it seems like my 2 options are either paying the fine or ignoring the email as a whole. Unfortunately, upon receiving the email, I did not do sufficient research / post a thread for help and made the rash decision of replying to the email asking for more specifics concerning the tickets in question with my "Reference Number" included. (I would choose to ignore it now, after reading more on this issue)

(Images attached are the emails sent to and by me)

Information to paint the picture:

1.) I have been avoiding paying the full fares on GA services.
2.) I have recently come to the UK for University. Since January, I normally go from "Station A" to Stratford (using my travel pass) and then to Chelmsford on some Weekends, as I do not have to tap out, I just change trains and buy a ticket from Hatfield Peverel which is only 1 station away from Chelmsford to minimize the price.
3.) Ever since I came, I have a total of 3 round trips to Chelmsford, meaning 6 trips in total. 4 of which were using the "fraud" method.
4.) However, I've also been to the UK during May 2024 and Dec 2023 both around 2 weeks each, during which I also used the "fraud" method on GA services.
5.) I am a student on student VISA.
6.) I have been caught once before but they never took down any of my details, they just gave me a "pass" after I bought the correct ticket, this was back in May 2024.

Questions:

1.) Now that I have replied, I am unsure if I am now "forced" to make the payment or if ignoring the subsequent emails are still an option? Which do you suggest I do?
2.) If i pay, it would mean i owned up to my mistakes, since I am on student VISA, will I somehow be deported since I have now owned up, so would it be better if I just ignored?
3.) If i choose to pay, will they make me pay the full price of one single ticket or the difference of price between the ticket I bought and the actual ticket I was supposed to buy? *(+£150 for the Investigation Fee)
4.) If I were to pay, would they check all my previous tickets and have me pay for those tickets in 2024 and 2023 as well?
5.) Is there a limit to how far back they can check in my transaction history?
6.) Is this not what many people in the UK do? If so, should I continue doing so using another account and ignore the emails this time instead? or Maybe even the original account? I'm open to suggestions, paying the full price is fine as well, just want to know what you guys think.


(This section is just for fun, if you wish, please do comment your opinions on my suspicions as well, I would love to learn more about how the system works!)

My Suspicions:

1.) This is likely a fishing email to get me to incriminate myself, and ignoring this email would have been the best choice I could make.
2.) I'm not too sure about this, but I have read on this forum that GA's main focus is to focus at the minute people buy tickets using an app when on board the train which is what I have been doing recently, which may have been the cause of this email being sent to me. I derived this due to the fact that I only recently got caught. When I used to do it back in 2023 and 2024, I have always bought the tickets ahead of time and not on the train itself (which is what I have recently been doing).

Once again, I apologize for the extremely long thread

If you are on a student visa you need to speak to your university visa advice team confidentially to understand the consequences of what you have been doing with regard to this.

It is likely you have left digital fingerprints all over your ticket buying records which can be traced.

The railway company will want you to pay back the sums you have evaded.

Frankly if friends tell you this is what people do those friends are stupid. This forum is full of people desperate to avoid getting the criminal record that goes with fare evasion cases that get prosecuted. I assume none of those friends have faced the consequences of that.

 

[ChineseElf]

If you are on a student visa you need to speak to your university visa advice team confidentially to understand the consequences of what you have been doing with regard to this.

It is likely you have left digital fingerprints all over your ticket buying records which can be traced.

The railway company will want you to pay back the sums you have evaded.

Frankly if friends tell you this is what people do those friends are stupid. This forum is full of people desperate to avoid getting the criminal record that goes with fare evasion cases that get prosecuted. I assume none of those friends have faced the consequences of that.

I see, do you / anyone know if, I'm required to give some personal information to record me down as a "criminal", or would it be something simple like its just tied to my trainline account and paying the fine will solve the problem?

 

[dosxuk]

I see, do you / anyone know if, I'm required to give some personal information to record me down as a "criminal", or would it be something simple like its just tied to my trainline account and paying the fine will solve the problem?

You will only get a criminal record if you are convicted of a crime by the courts. A train operating company can't do this by themselves - however, they can present their case to court, leading to a conviction. The behaviour you have admitted to in this thread would be sufficient - if proven to the satisfaction of the court - to lead to a conviction.

You have not yet shown any information that suggests GA have presented you with an out-of-court settlement offer. They do not have to offer this - as such there is no "fine" to pay as yet to make this go away.

As you have already acknowledged their emails, it seems likely that you have little choice but to continue to work with them. Generally this will lead to an offer to settle for an amount of money, which will make this go away.

Very importantly though - do not consider continuing this behaviour, on GA or other operators. If you are caught in the act then they will have all the evidence they need to convict you, and they will already have enough details to link you to the incidents they have identified - meaning it's unlikely you would get away with another settlement. As a visa holder, it is very much in your interests to avoid being convicted of a crime, and the best way to do this is to avoid breaking the law.

It might also be in the interests of your friends that you correct them of their assumption that "everyone does it" and that there are little consequences. Repeated and deliberate fare evasion can result in a conviction for fraud - something that will have a long term impact on their lives. Even if it's not done often, it only takes being caught once to potentially end up in front of a magistrate.

 

[dciuk]

I am sure many people do this, and we often see examples on this forum, but that does not make it right and chances are that eventually they will be caught and then find out how serious it is. If this is something your friends are doing I suggest you point them to this forum where they can see what happens when they get caught.