A new operation led by GMP’s Economic Crime Unit has driven down fraud locally in Stockport and Trafford.
A fraud protection hub was created as a pilot operation in Stockport in January 2024. We placed a fraud protection officer specifically in the Stockport area, they were supported by five fraud volunteers. The volunteers are all members of the local community, they know the area well and want to make a real difference.
Following the success of the pilot operation in the initial three months, the hub was expanded to cover the Trafford area in March 2024.
Since the start of the operation, financial losses on volume fraud in Stockport has fallen by 42% when compared to figures from the year before, with a 27% decrease in victim numbers.
Since the introduction of the operation in Trafford, financial losses on volume fraud have reduced by 74% with a decrease in victim numbers of 21%.
The Economic Crime Unit staff and volunteers have worked alongside local neighbourhood officers and Police Community Support Officers in order to educate local residents about the different types of fraud and cybercrime that are prevalent at the moment.
To do this, we conducted two events per week in locations such as libraries and community centres to ensure we are as accessible as we can be, where we have given relevant fraud and cybercrime advice to a wide range of people from different ages targeting anybody and everybody about the risk of fraud.
We have also held crime clinics for our police officers to assist with advice around ongoing fraud investigations to upskill our staff and educate them on how to deal with reports of fraud, with an importance placed on building strong relationships with partners in the community.
Our operation has also seen us work with Stockport council, Age UK and a number of local banks, where we have held regular community stalls with a staff member or volunteer from the unit providing crime prevention advice ensuring we are targeting as many people as possible.
Alongside providing prevention advice to reduce the chance of people becoming a victim, we are also working closely with those who have unfortunately already become a victim of fraud to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
To do this, every victim of fraud has personally been provided with tailored prevention and protection advice. The team are working proactively to provide additional security devices for victims of doorstep crime and telephone-enabled crime by fitting devices in their homes to protect them from nuisance and scam callers.
Detective Sergeant Stacey Shannon, of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “By creating community-based fraud hubs, our staff and volunteers can work alongside local neighbourhood officers and PCSOs.
“We are out doing all we can to protect our community from fraud, it is a devastating crime that involves some of the most vulnerable members of our society getting defrauded out of thousands and even tens of thousands of pounds worth of their hard-earned money which is going straight into fraudster’s pockets.
“We are using a multi-agency approach, and we can see that we can’t do this alone, we need the input and expertise from our partner agencies in our communities to ensure we are tackling economic crime head on, putting a real emphasis on prevention but also ensuring we are assisting those who have unfortunately already been a victim.
“We are asking people to spot the signs when it comes to fraud – one of the main signs is that you may be suspicious or contacted out of the blue by a company that you have not contacted or spoken to before. They may ask you for personal details or to make a payment and you do not know what it is for.
“Fraudsters usually deploy tactics to create a sense of urgency to make the victim respond quickly. They create a sense of panic, and we encourage people to take 5 to stop and take some time to think about why you are parting with your money and if it feels suspicious. Challenge, ask yourself if this request could be fake, criminals will try to rush you and finally, protect yourself by contacting your bank to report any suspicions.
For more information about Take 5:Take Five – To Stop Fraud | Take Five is a national campaign offering straightforward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves against fraud. (takefive-stopfraud.org.uk).
