Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Victims of fraud are being failed by Action Fraud, which risks undermining public trust in...
Recommendation
Victims of fraud are being failed by Action Fraud, which risks undermining public trust in the police. We are seriously concerned that the failures of Action Fraud in supporting victims of fraud has earned it the nickname “Inaction Fraud”. Many victims feel lost in the system as there is often no response when they make a report to Action Fraud. More than 300,000 victims report their case directly to Action Fraud each year, and a further 600,000 reports come to Action fraud from businesses and industry. But less than 1% of cases received by Action Fraud result in a criminal justice outcome, where an offender is charged or prosecuted for the crime. 6 Progress combatting fraud We are worried that for many people, reporting a fraud may be their only contact with the police, and negative experiences of reporting fraud risks undermining public trust in the police more generally. The Department plans to improve the experience of victims and the level of support provided through a new Action Fraud system, and City of London Police claims it has put victims at the centre of designing the new system. However, this is not expected to be in place until 2024. Recommendation 3: The Department should set out, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how Action Fraud’s replacement in 2024 will improve the way it engages with victims of fraud and updates them about their case and any plans it has to make improvements in the interim.
Government Response Summary
The government will upgrade the Action Fraud service by 2024, but will put in place several improvements to the existing system including: increasing staff in call centre, sending cases to forces faster, prioritising vulnerable victims and rolling out the NECVCU service.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. upgrade in the Action Fraud service by 2024. Victims, however, will not have to wait until then before they begin to see improvements in the reporting service and the information and support provided to them. Several improvements to the existing system have already been put in place including: • increasing the number of staff in the call centre and introducing a new chat bot for the website to handle greater volumes of reports. • sending cases to forces faster so they can consider whether an investigation should take place. • web reports are now analysed to identify vulnerable victims so their cases can be prioritised for immediate assessment and one-to-one support. • roll out of the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit (NECVCU) service that vulnerable victims are referred to by Action Fraud to help them avoid revictimisation. The full replacement service will launch in 2024. This will include a new reporting website that will make it easier for people to report fraud and to access advice on how to protect themselves. Anyone reporting to the new service will also be able to track the progress of their report and receive better updates.