Victims of fraud are being encouraged to report their experiences to Action Fraud from December 1.
Most victims do not report it because they feel embarrassed and ashamed, and fraudsters rely on that silence.
Action Fraud provides a centre for reporting all types of fraud, including identity theft, investment, credit card, and consumer fraud.
DI Dave Alexander said: “Fraud is not a victimless crime. It can devastate lives and it’s vital we take strong action to prevent people falling foul of criminals who prey on the vulnerable. Action Fraud will help prevent fraud and better enable Bedfordshire Police to investigate crime by giving us access to national intelligence.
“Fraudsters can target people regardless of who they are and where they are based, so by providing a national reporting centre, we will be in a much stronger position to tackle fraud locally. By working together, Action Fraud and Bedfordshire Police will be able to offer a better level of service to the public and, ultimately, bring more offenders to justice.”
If individuals or business operators have been a victim of any kind of fraud in the last 12 months and want to report it, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
Remember:
Don’t let fraudsters get away with it. Even if you don’t lose money, it is important that you report it to Action Fraud – your information can help to root out fraudsters and prevent future attacks
Every police force is changing to use Action Fraud as their fraud and internet crime reporting service – helping free up police resources to focus on investigations with viable lines of enquiry
This central collection of crime reports enables seemingly unrelated incidents from around the country to be linked through analysis, helping identify networks of criminals
The Action Fraud website, Facebook and Twitter pages are a useful source of up-to-date information and advice on the latest scams