Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Action Fraud was launched in 2009 as the national reporting centre for fraud.
Conclusion
Action Fraud was launched in 2009 as the national reporting centre for fraud. Victims can report to Action Fraud if they have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2019, the media reported that victims were being misled and mocked by Action Fraud staff. In 2021, the City of London Police settled a 3-year legal dispute with the service provider due to the service “not fulfilling its expected function in line with the contract”.16 We raised concerns that Action Fraud has been nicknamed “Inaction Fraud” and was seen as a black hole by many victims, who feel lost in the system. We also raised concerns that for many people, being a victim of fraud may be their only touchpoint with the police, and if this is a bad experience, this can affect their perception of how effective police forces are overall. The Department agreed this was a “huge issue” and acknowledged that Action Fraud’s performance had not been good enough. It told us it is investing significantly in Action Fraud as the main interface between individual members of the public who are, or think that they might be victims of fraud, and the policing system.17
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and is providing £30 million to City of London Police to support the upgrade in the Action Fraud service by 2024, with improvements being implemented prior to then, including an increase in staff, faster case referrals, prioritisation of vulnerable victims and rollout of the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3. PAC conclusion: Victims of fraud are being failed by Action Fraud, which risks undermining public trust in the police. 3. PAC recommendation: 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. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2024 3.2 The government is providing £30 million to City of London Police to support the 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. 3.3 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.