Financial fraud incidents up 53% in first half of 2016
More than 1 million incidents of financial fraud occurred in the first six months of 2016, according to official figures released by Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK).
This represents a 53% increase compared to the same period last year, this means an incident happened in the UK every 15 seconds between January and June 2016.
The figures are released as FFA UK and all major banks and key financial services providers across the UK come together for the first time to launch a national campaign to combat financial fraud. The campaign – Take Five – aims to put consumers and businesses back in control with straight forward advice to help prevent financial fraud.
It focuses on financial frauds directly targeting customers, such as email deception (known as phishing) and phone and text-based scams (sometimes known as vishing and smishing), and is designed to remind people that it pays to stop and think. It will also help protect people from criminals duping them into moving money into bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
The Take Five campaign is asking consumers to help protect themselves from financial fraud by remembering some simple advice:
- Never disclose security details, such as your PIN or full password – it’s never right to reveal these details
- Don’t assume an email request or caller is genuine – people aren’t always who they say they are
- Don’t be rushed – a bank or genuine organisation won’t mind waiting to give you time to stop and think
- Listen to your instincts – if something feels wrong then it is usually right to pause and question it
- Stay in control – have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for information
Backing the campaign, Ian Dyson, Commissioner, City of London Police, which is the national policing lead for fraud said: “Fraud and cyber crime account for nearly half of all crime according to the British Crime Survey and this campaign is aimed at giving people the confidence to think before they act. Pausing for that short moment and asking ourselves, is this the safe thing to do, will go a long way to thwarting the fraudsters that prey on peoples trusting nature. This campaign is one element of the Joint Fraud Taskforce bringing together law enforcement, Government and business to tackle the increase in crime that blights every community across the country.”
If you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling
0300 123 2040, or by using the online reporting tool at www.actionfraud.police.uk