In the year to September 2016 there were an estimated 1.9 million incidents of cyber related fraud in England and Wales. The true cost of online fraud is unknown, but is likely to be billions of pounds a year. The Home Office (the Department) is responsible for preventing and reducing crime, including online fraud. Many other bodies also play a role, including the police, banks and Action Fraud (which is run by the City of London Police). In 2016 the Department set up the Joint Fraud Taskforce to improve collaboration between all bodies in tackling online fraud.

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