AN ENTREPRENEUR from Saffron Walden who struggled after losing nearly £10,000 to online fraudsters has successfully relaunched his online business. Richard Scott, 34, of Greenways, was left thousands of pounds out of pocket when his website received aroun

AN ENTREPRENEUR from Saffron Walden who struggled after losing nearly £10,000 to online fraudsters has successfully relaunched his online business.

Richard Scott, 34, of Greenways, was left thousands of pounds out of pocket when his website received around 10 fraudulent orders shortly after its launch.

He said: "I launched two products: a home automation system and a maintenance-free PC, both of which I was selling from my website.

"I went online in October 2005 and began receiving orders straight away, which I shipped off to customers.

"My bank, the Halifax Bank of Scotland, authorised the transactions and the money appeared in my account, but in January 2006 I received a letter from the bank telling me that the orders had been fraudulent."

Mr Scott was forced to cease trading and was left with a bill for around £9500, which he was unable to recoup from his bank.

"I asked my bank how they would know if a transaction was fraudulent and they said there was no way they could," he said.

"I was charged three per cent by them for each transaction, then a further three per cent for each refund, so while the bank was making six per cent from the money I had lost, I was losing 106 per cent."

With his wife Kirsty two months pregnant, Mr Scott was forced to face a three-hour each-way commute to a job in Norwich in a desperate attempt to secure his family's future after receiving such heavy losses.

"My bank was utterly useless - they offered no help and no support. I went to the police, but they told me that it wasn't cost-effective to investigate," he added.

"Apart from the money I lost, I, of course, had to spend a huge amount of time trying to sort my problem out, which led to me suffering a lot of stress."

Mr Scott continued working in Norwich until the birth of his second daughter, Ava, in September. After a traumatic year, Mr Scott is now back online, using a more secure transaction system.

He said: "In the next few days, I'll be moving into an office above Gray Palmer on the High Street, where I can run my business, Temasi - Technology Made Simple."

Temasi offers two key innovative products: a home automation system that significantly undercuts similar products from other suppliers, and a maintenance-free PC that is immune from viruses and malware.

Mr Scott made an appearance on ITV's Tonight show with Trevor McDonald as part of a feature on credit card fraud.

He said: "I want to warn people that banks will often not accept liability for online fraud - I though I could trust my bank, but I was wrong."

Mr Scott's website can be viewed at www.temasi.com