Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 34
Many victims of pension scams never report that they have been scammed.
Recommendation
Many victims of pension scams never report that they have been scammed. Others report a long time after it has taken place. Scam victims reasonably expect that, when they make a report to Action Fraud, it will be acted upon. They are understandably left disillusioned when this does not happen. A 2019 investigation by the Times found serious failings at Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Representatives of Action Fraud were able to speak positively about improvements made to the service since 2019, but there is a long way to go before it can regain the faith of victims and the wider public. We recommend that Action Fraud should be accountable to Project Bloom, or any successor organisation, for its work on pension scams. A failure to manage victims’ expectations, an investigation by the Times and a lack of action on cases has left Action Fraud with a tattered reputation. The City of London Police should make annual reports to Parliament on efforts to repair it.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government emphasizes the importance of reporting to Action Fraud and outlines efforts to improve industry reporting and communications. However, it does not commit to Action Fraud being accountable to Project Bloom or to the City of London Police making annual reports to Parliament on efforts to repair Action Fraud's reputation.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
34
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The City of London Police (CoLP) are the National Lead Force for fraud, and responsible for the delivery of the Action Fraud Service. They are an active member of Project Bloom and report into them on a regular basis. The Government has strong existing governance and monitoring processes in place for holding the CoLP to account for the delivery of the Action Fraud Service. Alongside routine programme monitoring, this governance includes implementation of actions addressing the recommendations from Sir Craig Mackey’s independent review of Action Fraud to deliver a better service, and monitoring the recommendations on the police response to fraud, as set out in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service’s (HMICFRS) inspection. Given the level of monitoring already undertaken as part of policing’s operational delivery, it is in our view unnecessary to provide additional reporting to Parliament. Instead, we believe the oversight should remain with the Government.
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