Fraud in the region increased by 16 per cent last year – with share sales and dating scams rising at the largest rates. Papers presented to the West Midlands strategic policing and crime board today (Feb 22) show there has been a rise in “overall fraud victimisation” in the West Midlands from 13,331 to 15,555 between 2020 and 2021.
The biggest rise came in share sales or “boiler room fraud ” where criminals cold call victims and pressurise them into investing in companies or products which are worthless or do not exist. The rise in this crime was more than 46 per cent, while dating scams or romance fraud saw a rise of more than 44 per cent and rental fraud went up by more than 43 per cent.
Fraud involving criminals contacting victims and asking them to pay an administration fee to assist in the transfer of a large amount of money from one country to another – with the promise of a proportion of the transferred money at a later date to pay for this service – went up by 42 per cent. There has been a broad growth in all age ranges of victims, with a particularly large increase seen in the 41 to 50-year-old bracket (more than 24 per cent), 51 to 60-year-old bracket (more than 36 per cent), and 61 to 70-year-old bracket (more than 24 per cent).
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But in 2021, the average loss for all individual and organisation victims was £24,400, which decreased from £53,161 in the preceding year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were five million fraud offences in England and Wales in 2021 – up 32 per cent from 2019.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “Fraud is rising across the country and despite what the business secretary [Kwasi Kwarteng MP] says, fraud is a crime that people do experience in their day-to-day lives. The national response to fraud and cybercrime lacks coordination and is failing victims. There is a clear need for an end to end overhaul of the way fraud is dealt with, throughout our criminal justice system.
“Currently fraud victims are pushed from local forces to Action Fraud at the City of London Police and back again, without any clear expectations of the response they can expect. Fraud is a national issue that needs a national response that is commensurate with the level of demand, risk and threat.
“Unfortunately, in the words of the former treasury minister [Lord Agnew] who recently resigned, we currently have a Government that has ‘little interest in the consequences of fraud to our society’. That is unacceptable. The government needs to cease its all too casual, laissez faire attitude and commit to doing what it what it takes to prevent and tackle fraud.”
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