Counter-fraud

In this series, CSW provides a guide to professions and functions across the civil service. Each briefing looks at a different group, offering a glimpse at what they do and how they work with other parts of government.

What do they do? Currently, the majority of officials working in counter fraud are investigators. However, since the launch of the profession in 2018, new pathways have been developed, supported by learning and development programmes, in areas such as assessment, measurement and leadership.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com//in-depth/article/a-guide-to-the-counterfraud-profession-and-function

Fraud remains a significant threat to the UK and those operating in the regulated financial industry.

Latest figures show that fraud accounts for 36 per cent of crime reported, with 3.2mn instances reported in March 24, according to the Office for National Statistics.

After well over a decade of fraudsters robbing people blind, finally we have some good news! The Payment Services Regulator (PSR) – the organisation in charge of the systems we use to pay for things in the UK – has announced that UK banks and other (but not all) money transfer services must refund people who have been defrauded up to £85,000. This money must now be refunded within five working days.

https://www.scotsman.com/business/consumer/is-battle-against-fraudsters-about-to-be-won-at-last-4819498

Action Fraud is warning people to provide an extra layer of protection and enable the 2-Step Verification (2SV) option, as more than 33,600 people had their social media or email accounts hacked in the last year.

Data from Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, shows that more than 33,600 people reported that their online accounts had been hacked from August last year, with victims losing a total of £1.4 million.

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/socialmediahacking

Global joined-up action is needed to tackle the scourge of fraud, a report is urging, with nearly one in five UK adults having fallen victim in the past three years alone. Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of UK adults are estimated to have fallen victim to fraud between 2021 and 2023, according to a report.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-urged-lead-fightback-against-150201541.html

Bank payments could be delayed by up to three days under new rules that would give banks more time to investigate potential fraud.

The Government said it was proposing laws that will extend the time that payments can be stalled by up to 72 hours.

Currently, a bank has until the end of the next business day to either process of refuse a payment made by a customer.

Students and those going back to university are being warned about the top fraud types affecting young people, as new data reveals almost 69,000 reports were received from people aged between 11 and 29, losing a total of £143.7 million in 2023.

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, has launched a student safety campaign, revealing the top frauds to look out for and how to prevent themselves from becoming a target.

The interconnected world of fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (FRAML) is continuously evolving, and the stakes are high. This eBook explores the complexities of financial crime, highlighting the rise of fast evolving fraud schemes, cyber scams in particular, and underscoring the importance of effective prevention. We also suggest a technology gap that can be bridged through public-private partnerships (PPP)

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/ebook/from-intelligence-to-evidence-a-blueprint-for-government-fraud-prevention/181556/

The Environment Agency has warned that it has seen a “dramatic rise” in fraud in the waste export industry over the last three years – particularly in the “scale and complexity” of crime schemes.

Total waste crime costs the UK economy an estimated £1 billion a year.

https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/environment-agency-dramatic-rise-in-waste-export-fraud/

A Which?-led coalition representing some of the UK’s biggest banks and telecoms providers has made a landmark commitment to sharing data, as it urges the new government to make tackling fraud a national priority.

The group, which includes Which?, Barclays, BT, Mobile UK, Nationwide, NatWest, Starling, Three UK, UK Finance, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone, is calling on ministers to provide the leadership necessary to ensure more businesses can better share intelligence to detect fraud and to protect their customers.