NFSA Announce Fraud Strategy

The NFSA has today released the first National Fraud Strategy, which aims to strengthen response to fraud and provide protection and support to both consumers and businesses affected.

The strategy has been launched at a time when fraud is high on the press agenda, partly due to the Madoff enquiry into Ponzi fraud as well as a number of other high profile cases, mostly in the finance sector.

Launched by the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC, the strategy has four key areas of priority:

Improving the building and sharing of knowledge about fraud, by the City of London Police (CoLP) establishing a new National Fraud Reporting Centre and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau

Tackling the most serious and harmful fraud threats, such as identity and mass marketing fraud

Disrupting and punishing more fraudsters while improving support to their victims, by working with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and Victim Support, and introducing plea negotiations and extending Crown Courts’ powers in fraud cases

Improving the nation’s long-term capability to prevent fraud, by better co-ordinating fraud public awareness activity and building strong, supportive partnerships among the counter-fraud community.

Baroness Scotland QC has also explained how the strategy will help encourage a ‘joined-up’ approach to fraud prevention, detection and prosecution: “The National Fraud Strategic Authority will co-ordinate activity, remove gaps and overlaps, and maximise opportunities to ensure all counter-fraud activities can deliver the greatest possible results. We are working to provide real help now to people and businesses to make it tougher to defraud them.”

Related Articles

A PDF Summary of the NFSA strategy is available here.

More information on the strategy can be found at: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/

The NFSA has also produced a guide for consumers, which is available here, and can be distributed freely to your customers and contacts.