Victims of online fraud and scams can be subject to a “postcode lottery” when it comes to how and if their crime is investigated, suggests research recently published by The Daily Telegraph.

Under the present system, all fraud offences and scams are reported to Action Fraud, the central police unit. These 400,000-plus annually reported crimes are filtered by a computer system which charges a criminal offence on its probabilities of being solved and its potential ‘threat and harm to individuals, businesses or the economy as a whole’.

Commenting on the issue, David McKelvey, a former detective chief inspector with the Metropolitan Police, stated: “99.9 per cent of frauds don’t go to the police for investigation…. it’s [an area that is] under-reported and under-investigated on an enormous scale.”

As an example, there were 5,378 frauds reported in North Yorkshire within the year to March 2021, of which 164 have been referred for investigation by Action Fraud. Just six of these investigations resulted in a cost or summons.

Neighbouring forces fared differently. Durham had the third highest charging rate at 4.61 per cent, however Cleveland, was on 0.89 per cent.

The Government has pledged to scrap Action Fraud and replace it with ‘an improved national fraud and cyber crime reporting system.’ We will continue to report on any related updates.

All businesses should be reminded that reporting online fraud and crime is key in catching criminals.

The NEBRC was established as part of a national network to support businesses from online crime. If you want to discuss how you can best prepare, manage and report crime speak to a member of our team today about the free membership and resource packages we offer at: enquiries@nebrcentre.co.uk