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The Home Affairs Committee has announced a new inquiry into
fraud.
Fraud is the most common crime in England and Wales, accounting
for 40% of all offences. In 2022, 3.7 million incidents of fraud
were reported to the police. It is feared many cases go
unreported. The Covid-19 pandemic saw a significant increase in
online fraud, with many perpetrators based outside the United
Kingdom making identification and prosecution more
difficult.
Fraud can have a devastating impact on victims. Beyond the
consequences of financial losses, victims report lasting mental
health trauma, even when money has been reimbursed.
In its new inquiry, the Committee will examine the impact of
fraud on victims and how they are supported in the aftermath. It
will ask how effective Government and law enforcement agencies
are at identifying and combatting existing and emerging forms of
fraud. The Committee will also look at how new technologies, such
as the growth of artificial intelligence, could transform fraud
and the role of technology and social media companies in tackling
this form of crime.
Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, said:
“Fraud has become ever present in our lives. We are all familiar
with phishing scams and phone calls, but this form of crime is
constantly evolving with evermore sophisticated ways of trapping
victims.
“We will be asking, is fraud getting the focus it needs
considering the devastating impact it can have on people’s lives?
In 2022, it received only 2% of police resources despite
amounting to 40% of all crime. People often don’t know who to
turn to for support and are left feeling vulnerable and
alone.
“We have launched this inquiry to understand the current
landscape of fraud prevention and detection in England and Wales.
We will look at how the criminal justice system has responded to
the growth on online fraud, as well as tackling its more
traditional forms. We also want to understand the consequences of
fraud for those who have fallen victim to it, what happened to
them and how they were helped to deal with its legacy.”
Call for evidence
Stakeholders are invited to submit written evidence, covering all
or some of the points raised below. The Committee is particularly
keen to hear views on the police’s response to fraud. The
deadline for written evidence is Friday 20
October. Please note, the Committee is not able to take
up individual cases or complaints.
The prevalence of fraud
- How offenders are committing fraud and the impact of this
fraud on victims.
- How the emergence of new types of technology, such as
artificial intelligence, is being used to commit
fraud.
- The role of internet providers and social media providers in
enabling or preventing fraud and actions they could
take
- The cross-cutting nature of fraud, e.g how it may start as
one type of fraud and progress into another
Reporting, investigating and prosecuting
fraud
- The effectiveness of the current system for reporting,
investigating and prosecuting fraud, including work with
international partners in tackling fraud
- The response of the criminal justice system to rising fraud,
including in sentences and other outcomes
- Given that it is estimated 70% of fraud either originates
aboard or has an international element, what is being done to
prevent fraud arising through those international
channels?
- What other countries are achieving in terms of detection,
prevention and prosecution of fraud.
- How better to collect and use data on the scale, cost and
nature of fraud.
Government’s response to fraud
- The Home Office’s progress to date on tackling fraud
- Whether its recently published Fraud Strategy does
enough to combat fraud
- Whether the current machinery of Government is sufficient in
tackling fraud
