The City of London Police has launched Report Fraud, a national service designed to transform how victims and businesses report cyber crime and fraud across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The service represents one of the largest overhauls of fraud reporting in the UK, aimed at tackling crimes that now account for roughly half of all offences and cost the economy billions each year.
Cyber-enabled crime and fraud are rising in both scale and sophistication, targeting individuals, small businesses and major corporations alike.
Report Fraud provides a single, national gateway for reporting incidents, assessing intelligence, and supporting victims.
FINANCIAL LOSS
It also allows law enforcement to identify serious cases for specialist investigation and to disseminate intelligence across forces, strengthening the collective response of policing, government and the private sector.
Pete O’Doherty, Commissioner of the City of London Police and Senior Responsible Officer for delivering Report Fraud, said: “Cyber crime and fraud are the crimes most likely to affect people in this country, yet too often victims feel unsure where to turn or what will happen if they make a report.
“These crimes cause more than financial loss and often have devastating impacts on those targeted.
“We see the true cost of cyber crime and fraud when taking reports from those affected. Report Fraud is a landmark step forward.
“This is not just a new service; it is a major upgrade to the UK’s defences against economic crime.”
FIGHTING SCAMMERS
Lord Hanson, Fraud Minister, added: “Report Fraud is a critical new tool in our fight against the scammers. It will deliver better support for victims while giving law enforcement the tools to investigate fraudsters’ operations.
“Every fraud report matters – it is the first line of defence for yourself and others.”
SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD
Phil Cotter, CEO of SmartSearch said: “Report Fraud is a significant step forward for victims and for the wider fight against fraud, particularly in improving intelligence-sharing and speed of response.
“But reporting alone cannot be the solution. Fraud is now an industrial-scale crime, and technology firms, financial institutions and telecoms providers all have a responsibility to prevent scams before they reach consumers.
“That means investing in stronger identity verification, real-time monitoring and data-led risk detection, not relying on victims to pick up the pieces after harm has occurred.”
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