Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies welcomes the Conservative Government’s new long-term ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign, delivering tough new anti-fraud messaging, and raising public awareness on fraud safety advice in partnership with law enforcement, tech, banking, telecoms and third sector organisations.
This new campaign builds on the Government’s long-term Fraud Strategy set out by the Home Office in May 2023, committing to 52 ambitious actions to cut fraud by 10 per cent by the end of this Parliament.
Thanks to this long-term plan, fraud and computer misuse has fallen by 13 per cent in the last year according to the latest data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales.
Official data shows that the number of fraud and computer misuse incidents in North Wales had fallen from 3,380 incidents to 3,166 incidents in the last year, a drop of 6.3% per cent, showing the long-term plan to stop fraud is working.
Since 2019, the UK Government has implemented a whole range of long-term reforms to tackle fraud by creating new national fraud squad with over 400 new investigators, banning SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands of scam texts and stopping cold calls for financial products so people cannot be duped by scammers.
It has also signed the world’s first Online Fraud Charter, delivering tough long-term action against fraud in partnership with 12 leading tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google and X (formerly Twitter).
Commenting, James said:
“Fraud is an awful blight on our society and can ruin lives, so I welcome news that the Conservative Government’s crackdown on fraud has cut fraud referrals by 6.3% in North Wales.
“The Conservative Government’s new ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign will build on this excellent progress, raising public awareness on fraud safety and building on the Conservative long-term Fraud Strategy announced last year.
“This news shows the Government’s long-term plan to tackle fraud is working, and will provide reassurance to residents in the Vale of Clwyd.”
Commenting, the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, said:
“Our bold Fraud Strategy is continuing to deliver for the British people.
“This new campaign is a powerful tool to add to our arsenal, which already includes a world-first agreement from tech firms to prevent online fraud and the rollout of a National Fraud Squad that has 400 expert investigators.
“I encourage everyone to stop, take a moment to think about fraud, and share this messaging far and wide.”
Commenting, Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, said:
“Fraud ruins lives. Following this advice will give people the best tips to stop fraudsters from stealing their hard-earned cash, and point them towards all the help and information on offer.
“Our Fraud Strategy is successfully turning the tide against fraudsters. This new campaign will share the details we all need to defend ourselves and our friends.”
