Next week marks International Fraud Awareness Week – so let’s talk about how we are tackling it, writes Chris Hayward.

Fraud and cyber-crime can affect anyone – any family, any business, and any organisation.

https://www.citymatters.london/international-fraud-awareness-week/

A man has managed to get his house back two years after it was sold without his knowledge.

The Reverend Mike Hall returned to his Luton home in July 2021 to discover it had been sold without his permission after his identity was stolen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-67356354

The UK Financial watchdog urges firms to strengthen fraud controls and improve support for victims.

A recent review of fraud controls among UK financial firms has revealed a mix in standards, and an amplified need for support for customers who have fallen victim to fraud.

https://www.digit.fyi/fca-victim-support-and-anti-fraud-systems-need-improvement/

East Lancashire's main train operator is deploying a team of digital fraud experts to catch persistent fare dodgers.

Northern has issued a warning that offenders with a ‘proven pattern of behaviour’ should expect to be prosecuted for historic cases of fare evasion.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/digital-fraud-team-cracks-down-120000961.html/

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is looking at potential legislative measures to help reduce levels of fraud, error and debt in the benefits system, as set out in the May 2022 policy paper, 'Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System'.

The findings from the 'British Social Attitudes Survey' have now been published from a recent DWP survey which aimed to understand public perceptions of fraud, error and debt in the benefits system along with exploring the acceptability of proposed new powers to help inform future policy development.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/dwp-propose-investigators-look-at-where-people-spend-their-money-to-stop-benefit-fraud/ar-AA1jnkOY?ocid=socialshare

The fifth Tackling Economic Crime Awards (TECAs) event, sponsored by Altia, took place at Novotel London West on 1 November 2023.

More than three hundred financial crime professionals gathered to celebrate the very best from across the sector with dinner and a presentation event hosted by former Commissioner of the City of London Police, Ian Dyson QPM DL.

https://thetecas.com/2023/11/01/winners-of-2023-tackling-economic-crime-awards-announced/

The rise of highly skilled criminal gangs is a strong argument for cybersecurity and anti-fraud professionals to join forces, but there are other factors at play too.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, 3.2 million UK households bought a pet to stave off lockdown loneliness. Unfortunately, where that kind of cash goes, criminals usually follow.

https://www.raconteur.net/technology/fraud-and-cyber-silos

Will the government’s strategy be enough to combat the country’s No. 1 crime problem?

Fraud now accounts for more than 40% of all crime in the United Kingdom. Here we explore what’s behind this proliferation of fraud in England and Wales and what anti-fraud experts say the government must do to crush it.

https://www.fraud-magazine.com/cover-article.aspx?id=4295022048

The UK’s payments regulator has published the first entry in a new data series tracking how individual banks have been affected by and responded to authorised push payment (APP) fraud.

The Payment Systems Regulator collected figures from the country’s 14 largest banks, as well as nine smaller firms that were among the top receivers of money from fraud.

https://www.cityam.com/payments-regulator-names-worst-banks-for-fraud-reimbursement/

UK Finance today releases its half-year fraud report, detailing the amount its members reported as stolen through fraud and scams in the first half of 2023.

https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/press-release/criminals-steal-over-half-billion-pounds-and-nearly-80-cent-app