Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Lisa Townsend, has welcomed the Conservative Government’s new long-term ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign, delivering tough new anti-fraud messaging, 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 ten per cent by the end of this Parliament. Thanks to the Government’s long-term plan, fraud and computer misuse has fallen by 13 per cent nationally 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 Surrey had fallen from 7781 incidents to 6689 incidents in the last year, a drop of 14 per cent, an even larger drop than the national average.
Since 2019, the 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.
The Government 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).
Speaking about the campaign Lisa said “Fraud accounts for more than 40 per cent of crime in Surrey and can have a devastating impact on victims’ lives, with scammers often deliberately targeting vulnerable residents. I am, therefore, delighted that the Government’s crackdown on fraud has helped cut fraud referrals by 14 per cent across our county.
“This brilliant new ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign from the Government will build on the excellent progress that has already been made in Surrey, raising public awareness on fraud and how to prevent becoming victim to it, as well as building on the Conservative long-term Fraud Strategy which was announced in 2023.
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.”
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.”
