Fraud victims 'are being failed' by justice system

Victims of fraud are being mistreated by the criminal justice system, as new research shows that only a minority of reports result in a lawsuit. There were 1. According to statistics from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, there were 2 million reported cases of fraud in England and Wales from the 12 months to June. However, fewer than 13,000 cases were brought into court in the same time frame, according to Minister of Justice statistics.

Our experience shows that victims get a really bad deal from the criminal justice system as a whole,

charity Victim Support's national lead for fraud.

In the New Year, the Home Office said it would launch

an innovative fraud program.

The true extent of fraud may be much larger. There were 4. According to the Office for National Statistics' Crime Survey for England and Wales, 1 million suspected cases of fraud in the 12 months to June this year, which can include offences that were not reported to the police.

Joan Holdaway, 85, spoke out about her experience as part of the BBCC's Scam Safe Week from October 22 to November 28. She had £1,000 stolen after being bombarded with phone calls from fraudsters who used pictures of celebrities to advertise their investment scam online. It was very upsetting, said Ms Holdaway.

All I was worrying about was how I was going to eke out the money that I'd already had. I was hoping that I'm not going to get this back, but I know I don't.

She called Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime, and was put in touch with Cleveland Police, which put her in contact with Cleveland police. Officers referred her to the Victim Care and Advice Service, which enabled her to be reimbursed by her bank under fraud laws that were not introduced just over a year ago. When victims are tricked and coerced into forgiving money to criminals themselves, known as the mandatory reimbursement threshold, itobliges banks to reimburse the majority of victims of push payment fraud. In Ms Holdaway's case, no one has been charged, but she told the BBC that the emotional and mental consequences had been immense.

It's made me very, very suspicious. You can't sleep properly, and it's just on your mind all the time. All I was doing was avoiding ever speaking to anyone again.

I don't think you'll ever get over it. I think it stays with you. Is there anyone out there who you don't know about? It's really dreadful.

Victim Support was worried that people were not taken seriously when they report fraud to the bank or police, according to Mr Stevens.

If the bribery has an international dimension, the crime isn't investigated very often,

he said.

Prior to recent, prisoners were often not able to recover the money that was forfeited to criminals.

He said Victim Support was pushing for enhanced campaigns to raise public knowledge of the true dangers of fraud. It also called for greater collaboration between banks and social media firms, where fraud can take place.

Protecting customers is a top priority, and banks invest billions in advanced technologies to help detect and prevent fraud occurring in the first place,

UK Finance, which represents the banking industry, said.

In a statement, the Home Office said that fraud is

a serious and damaging offence that can affect anyone at any time,

and that we are determined to bring those responsible to justice.

We will unveil an exciting Fraud Strategy in the new year, which will minimize fraud, criminals, and victims," a spokesperson said.

Thousands of victims are impacted by fraud every year by a charity in Stockton-on-Tees, which provides information, assistance, and assistance to thousands of victims. VCAS' Victim Care and Advice Service is managed by Dave Mead.

A substantial, substantial chunk of our work and some of our most challenging work is fraud,

the author said.

The figures are eye-watering. Every month, we're contacting between 500 to 800 victims of a scam.

The overwhelming majority of victims do not report fraud [and] we find some. We've still need to integrate into the communities through senior organizations, faith organizations, and youth organizations, but we've also got to know them. "We've got to raise the conversation.

Vicky Beaumont is a VCAS consultant and support worker.

To be honest, even though I help people and talk to people day in day out, it's still difficult to see them [victims] relive the emotion.

But" it's so rewarding, it''s such a rewarding job to do to be able to help people like that and get high marks for them. I would do this all day everyday.