Almost £900,000 of fraud prevented in West Mercia

Since its launch the scheme has prevented victims from losing more than £2,938,501 from fraud and led to 25 arrests in West Mercia.

The police worked with branch staff at banks, building societies and Post Offices to stop £888,829.25 of fraud in West Mercia through the Banking Protocol rapid scam response last year, figures have revealed. Officers say that the majority of victims being targeted are elderly and vulnerable.

Launched in 2016, the UK-wide scheme was developed in partnership between UK Finance, local police forces and National Trading Standards.

Branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to a scam, before alerting their local police force to intervene and investigate the suspected fraud.

The scheme is used to prevent a variety of different crimes, including romance, impersonation, courier, and rogue trader scams. Customers are offered ongoing support to help prevent them from falling victim to scams in the future, including referrals to social services, expert fraud prevention advice and additional checks on future transactions.

Protect

Detective Sergeant Jon Cooper from the West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit said: “The Banking Protocol shows success is possible when the police and private sector partners work together to protect victims of fraud. We know the public are more likely to be a victim of fraud than any other type of crime, so a whole system change was in order to tackle the scourge of fraud, bring perpetrators to justice and reclaim the money and assets taken for those defrauded.

“The Banking Protocol was introduced to crack down on scams in which customers are tricked into visiting their bank in person to withdraw money and hand it over to a criminal. Bank branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to such a scam. The staff member can invoke the Banking Protocol, leading the local police to send a priority response to the branch to investigate the suspected fraud and arrest any suspects still on the scene.

“The majority of victims being targeted are elderly and vulnerable people. The Banking Protocol also ensures that extra support is provided to customers identified through the scheme, to help prevent them from falling victim to similar scams in the future. This can include referrals to social services, expert fraud prevention advice and additional checks on future transactions.

“While we have made a significant impact on organised crime groups targeting our elderly relatives and friends I would encourage everyone to please be aware of the scams that can be very convincing and to please remember that the police will never contact you to discuss your money, bank accounts or ask you to withdraw money and give it to a courier.”