Fraudsters steal £30 million from region's residents amid pandemic
Fraudsters have fleeced around £30 million from people in Shropshire and Mid Wales during the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the victims have been stung in online shopping scams, figures reveal.
Criminals have taken advantage of the rise in internet purchases as well as concerns over health and wellbeing through the crisis, says Action Fraud, the UK’s fraud and cyber crime authority.
In the West Mercia police area, 8,344 incidents of fraud and cyber crime were reported from the start of February last year to the end of March this year, according to data from Action Fraud.
The value of the crimes amounted to £24.4 million – the equivalent of around £5,755 each day.
The figures also show the criminals targeting older people, with West Mercia seeing 2,700 reports involving victims aged 60 and over – including 64 aged between 90 and 99.
Mid Wales has also been hit by scammers, with 4,841 incidents costing people £7.9 million – £1,861 each day.
The Government is planning to consult on measures to combat the issue, which digital minister Caroline Dineage admits is “deeply concerning”.
Across Great Britain, 448,700 reports of fraud and cyber crime were made to Action Fraud over the 14-month period. Victims’ losses totalled £1.9 billion.
West Mercia’s figure could be even higher with some 23,600 reported offences – worth £469.4 million – not recorded to a specific police force area.
The figures also show online shopping scams were most common type of fraud and cyber crime, along with advance fee and computer software frauds.
Consumer group Which? Said the figures showed online purchase scams were now being running on an “industrial scale” – and accused tech giants of not doing enough to protect users.
