GMP joins fight against fraudsters

Date published: 01/02/2010

Today (Monday 1st February 2010), Greater Manchester Police is supporting the official launch of Action Fraud, a national reporting centre, in order to build on their current success in the investigation of fraud.

Led by The National Fraud Authority (NFA), Action Fraud provides a single point of contact for members of the public to report fraud and gain vital crime prevention advice.

The Action Fraud call centre is based in Manchester.

Fraudsters cost the UK over £30 billion each year and target individuals and businesses alike. Everyone is potentially at risk.

The National Fraud Authority recently described fraud as a 'silent crime', with little focus being placed on fraud victims. Action Fraud aims to redress this balance and places the focus on victims, who can phone a national call-centre to report fraud, get crime prevention advice or gain access to victim support.

Action Fraud provides a clear signpost for reporting all types of fraud, including identity, investment, credit card, payment and consumer fraud. At the same time, it gives law enforcement and counter-fraud agencies better information to better target fraudsters, better protect the public and bring criminals to justice.

Initially trialed in West Midlands in October 2009 and Cumbria in December 2009, Action Fraud has now been rolled out across the North West of England.

Detective Inspector Neal Colburn, of GMP's Economic Crime Section, said: "Greater Manchester Police is proud to continue being at the forefront in the fight against fraud.

"Action Fraud has been taking calls from victims since October last year and already it is proving its worth.

"Action Fraud will support victims, help prevent fraud and better enable Greater Manchester Police to investigate crime by giving us access to national intelligence.

"By working together, Action Fraud and GMP will be able to offer a better level of service to the public."

GMP has enjoyed success in a number of high-profile fraud cases:

• A father and daughter team who set up a criminal enterprise to skim credit cards were jailed in February 2009. Cornel Oprea and his daughter Cornelia Oprea were caught with 500 people's credit card details. Officers also found £20,000 in cash and equipment for copying credit cards
• Jason Hart, from Bolton, was jailed after duping ebay buyers out of goods worth a total of £23,500. Hart, and his girlfriend Louise Gregory, sold tickets for pop concerts and major sporting events, but their victims never received the tickets

Operation Lewistown is an on-going operation targeting businesses that have been set up, or have been taken over, for fraudulent purposes. Suspicious enterprises are closed down to prevent disruption and further financial loss. To date numerous criminal businesses have been disrupted, saving businesses and the financial industry a potential £2.5million in losses.

Dr. Bernard Herdan, Chief Executive of the NFA, said: "Action Fraud is at the heart of our strategy to make the UK a more hostile environment for fraud. The vital information it provides to the police through the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), will help tighten the net on fraudsters."

Action Fraud data from GMP, as well as all other British police forces, will be transferred to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and analysed to identify patterns in fraud offending. This intelligence may later be used to form the basis of police investigations.

If individuals or business operators have been a victim of fraud in the last 12 months and want to report a fraud, they are encouraged to call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or Textphone 0300 123 2050.