Hajj Fraud
(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)
I am proud to represent nearly 15,000 Muslims as their MP in Parliament. The all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims recently informed me that my constituency has the 70th largest Muslim population in the country, and I know from my time as a Westminster city councillor, and now as an MP, of the key role that British Muslims play in making the two cities such a proudly multicultural and welcoming place in which to live.
Since being elected, I have worked with a large number and a wide variety of organisations in my constituency, including those supporting my Muslim constituents, such as the Westminster Bangladeshi Welfare Trust and the Westminster Bangladeshi Association, both of which have supported their communities for many years. Last month I was delighted to be invited to attend Eid celebrations on the Churchill Gardens Estate in Pimlico, organised by the residents association, led by their impressive chairman Christina Walsh. The event brought together local people of all faiths and none to celebrate this deeply significant religious festival, enabling us to enjoy it as a community no matter what our background. It was a very special afternoon, and I was delighted to be able to continue to learn more about the Ummah community and, in turn, about the Hajj journey that so many of my constituents will make next month.
Let me explain to those who do not already know that Hajj is the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the prophet Mohammed, which every adult Muslim is expected to undertake in his or her lifetime if financially and physically able to do so. From speaking to Muslim friends about their experiences of Hajj, I know what a special and significant time it is for them. Hajj is the fifth of the fundamental Muslim practices known as the five pillars of Islam, and is obligatory. The pilgrim rites begin on the seventh day of Dhu Al-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year, and end on the 12th day. As it is based on the lunar calendar, this year Hajj is expected to begin on 14 June and conclude on 19 June.
Despite its religious importance, many travelling from the UK to Mecca to perform Hajj are sadly not immune to targeting by fraudsters. I learned at first hand about Hajj-related fraud on a recent visit to the City of London police, based in my constituency, where I met Commander Umer Khan. The City of London police take the national lead on fraud, and thus Hajj-related fraud court cases come under its jurisdiction. Commander Khan is leading the force’s nationwide efforts to highlight how to prevent being a victim of Hajj-related fraud, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him and his team for their outstanding work.
According to the police, only 3% of Hajj-related fraud is actually reported. The reasons for such low reporting can be multifaceted. Some may not wish to report the crime as they booked through a contact of someone they know in their community or from their mosque; others may wish not to complain due to embarrassment or shame. We often hear these reasons from victims of whatever fraud, in whatever circumstances. One of the reasons I applied for this debate is to send a clear message to our British Muslim community that they should feel safe and confident that they will be taken seriously if they report a suspected fraud. Due to the low levels of reporting, we simply cannot know the full extent of what I think is a heinous crime.
In my discussions with City of London police officers about Hajj-related fraud, they informed me that they have accidentally come across incidences of fraud, but are finding it increasingly difficult to receive reports of this crime.
Mr Jonathan Lord (Woking) (Con)
My hon. Friend is making an eloquent speech. As a former deputy leader of Westminster City Council, I know the importance of the Muslim community there, just as I have an important Muslim community in Woking. My hon. Friend is making a good point: the message must go out to Members of this House that we should speak with religious and community leaders locally to ensure that this heinous crime is reported. As I say, I have a large Muslim community, but I have not heard of this before. It sounds terrible.
Nickie Aiken
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Before I went on my visit with the City of London police, which takes the lead on this, and met Commander Khan, I was not aware of it either. It is important that we highlight these hidden crimes. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on securing his third private Member’s Bill of his political career so far.
I want to highlight the importance of ensuring that members of the Muslim community in this country know that if they are victims of any type of fraud, but particularly Hajj-related fraud, they can inform the police and have it investigated properly. The City of London police believe that one of the reasons for low levels of reporting may be traditional attitudes that persist: having become “pure” as a Hajji, the person involved may not want to speak of such worldly things as fraud on their pilgrimage. Those who suspect that they have been a victim of any type of fraud should report it straightaway to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber-crime reporting service, which is available online at actionfraud.police.uk.
Every year, 25,000 British Muslims travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to undertake their Hajj. Many will have saved for years in the knowledge that it will be a once in a lifetime trip. Brits who take part in the pilgrimage spend a combined £125 million each year. These costs include return flights, accommodation, and paying for a guide. Data obtained from the police.uk website show that, sadly, police forces have reported Hajj-related fraud where British citizens have lost anything from £1,000 up to a staggering £33,000 to fraudsters, who promised to arrange their Hajj travel and accommodation but had no intention of ever doing so, and were never heard from again.
Those shopping around for the best deal for their trip to Mecca, both in their local community and increasingly online—particularly on social media—have been attracted to packages covering flights, accommodation and visas, which appear to offer good value for money. Some rogue operators advertise large reductions on what would usually be charged. Accommodation advertised as a 4-star hotel is, in reality on arrival, found to be barely the quality of a 1-star place. I have heard reports of flights being deliberately over-subscribed, leading to people failing to make the trip at all, and of people posing as travel agents, charging extortionate prices for visas—up to £1,000 each—when they are actually free. I have heard of travellers being asked to pay in cash or make a direct bank transfer prior to their trip, and being told that they would receive their tickets and travel documents nearer to the departure date, never to be received. A once in a lifetime trip, often using life savings, ends in heartbreak. I cannot imagine the distress and upset that must cause people so looking forward to undertaking their Hajj.
As we lead up to this year’s Hajj, I thought it important to highlight the dangers that fraudsters can pose to our citizens at this special time, and to ensure that people know that there is a way to protect themselves from becoming victims of Hajj-related fraud. In response to tackling this fraud, which affects not just British Muslims but those planning their pilgrimage from across the world, the Saudi Arabian Government have acted decisively. It is important to highlight that this is a global fraud issue. I read with interest in Arab News yesterday that the Iraqi authorities have prosecuted more than 25 companies fraudulently engaging in commercial Hajj operations.
In 2022, knowing that Hajj-related fraud was increasingly an issue, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah created the Nusuk Hajj portal, which has changed the way that individuals book their pilgrimage. The portal is available in over 50 countries, including the United Kingdom, and was created to provide a seamless and safe pilgrimage booking experience. By centralising the process by which visas are acquired, much of the fraud has been stifled, thankfully. It is imperative that individuals book their Hajj trips only through the Nusuk portal. Anyone posing as a provider of visas or trips to Mecca for Hajj is simply misleading people.
Sadly, even after the creation of the Nusuk Hajj portal and despite its success in reducing fraud, the criminal fraternity continues—as it always does—to attempt to find new avenues to try to take advantage. My advice to Hajjis is to remain vigilant about what is being sold and by whom. I still receive reports of individuals being sold Umrah visas and generic tourist visas and being told that they are acceptable for their Hajj pilgrimage. That is not the case. People can only travel with a Hajj visa from the Nusuk portal. The other visas allow access at any other time of year, but for Hajj period, those reliant on those visas will not be permitted entry to Mecca.
It is important to note that Hajj-related fraud is not just about people buying a package that simply does not exist; it also involves profiteering from a sacred pilgrimage. The fraudsters involved are, to my mind, the lowest of the low. I thank the groups that work tirelessly to highlight the importance of protecting people from Hajj-related fraud and encouraging the use of the Nusuk Hajj portal. As well as Commander Khan and the City of London police, I must thank the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) for her work leading the all-party parliamentary group on Hajj and Umrah, which, alongside the Council for British Hajjis, has raised the profile of this fraud immeasurably.
I met the hon. Member recently to discuss Hajj-related fraud, and she was clear that trading standards departments up and down the country, and specifically in Birmingham, have worked hard to uncover such criminal activity, bring those involved to justice, and ensure that the wider Muslim community is aware of possible fraud and the importance of using the Nusuk Hajj portal. By highlighting and encouraging the use of the portal among British Muslims, I hope that we can tackle Hajj-related fraud once and for all. After all, this is UK Finance’s Take Five Week—a week designed to raise awareness of and help tackle all types of fraud.
I look forward to hearing from the Minister how his Department and the Government in general will support British Muslims this year and every year to ensure that they can enjoy their pilgrimage without fear of exploitation and disappointment.
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp)
Let me start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Nickie Aiken) and congratulating her on securing this afternoon’s Adjournment debate. I think she first raised the topic in business questions on 18 April, and here we are just a few weeks later debating it. She is right to raise the issue, particularly given that it is just a few weeks until Muslims from all over the world will travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. That will of course include thousands of British Muslims. For many, their pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
My hon. Friend set out clearly the way that Hajj fraud operates. Exploitative criminals prey on hard-working families to dupe them out of their money, sometimes using fake websites and other means to persuade people to pay for goods or services that are not forthcoming. I echo the advice that my hon. Friend gave people to make sure that they book visas only via the properly authorised route. When booking travel via a travel agent, it is essential to make sure that the travel agency or tour operator is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents, to carefully check online reviews, to make sure that the travel company is ATOL-protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, and to make sure that the flight details and Hajj visa are valid. Those are all steps that people can and should take to protect themselves and make sure the counterparty they are dealing with is a legitimate organisation. We also strongly advise people never to pay by cash or by direct bank transfer into someone’s personal bank account.
The Government are committed to tackling both Hajj fraud and fraud more widely. I am pleased to report that overall, fraud is falling, with the latest data from the crime survey for England and Wales showing a 16% reduction year on year. But I am afraid to say that fraud remains the most common crime type, accounting for about 37% of all crime. That means that one in every 18 adults was a victim of fraud in the last year. That is why we must clamp down on all forms of fraud, including Hajj fraud.
That is encapsulated in our fraud strategy, published almost exactly a year ago, which entails investing about £100 million to improve law enforcement capabilities and launching a new national fraud squad, with 400 specialist investigators in post. It also includes steps to replace the Action Fraud service this year, which has been the subject of some criticism, to ensure victims of fraud have the confidence to come forward knowing their case will be dealt with properly.
We are also cracking down on fraudsters online. We know that many cases of Hajj fraud have an online element, which requires particular vigilance. When the Online Safety Act 2023 is fully enacted, it will help the regulator Ofcom to hold to account online social media platforms if they allow fraud to proliferate. That will take time to come into force fully, so to protect people even sooner, we have agreed the online fraud charter with 12 of the largest tech companies, including Amazon, eBay, Meta and Google. That was entered into last November and includes a series of voluntary actions that they will take. When the 2023 Act comes fully into force, it will compel large social media platforms to take proactive steps to combat fraud, including Hajj fraud.
As my hon. Friend said, public awareness is critical, as is people taking steps to protect themselves. That is why the “Stop! Think Fraud” national behaviour change campaign is so important. It encourages the public to always stop and think before they make a payment, and ask themselves, “Is it possible I am being defrauded? Is the counterparty legitimate? What can I do to check their credentials before making that payment?” Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, often now using artificial intelligence to generate images or even videos designed to trick people into paying money. The public’s vigilance is therefore extremely important, alongside the law enforcement response through the fraud strategy and the actions we are taking to compel large online platforms to be more proactive in stopping fraud proliferating online.
In conclusion, I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue on behalf of her Muslim communities in the Cities of London and Westminster. My hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr Lord) raised the issue on behalf of the Muslim communities in his constituency. In my own constituency of Croydon South, there is a significant Muslim community too. I know that other Members with Muslim communities will echo the call made by my two hon. Friends for our constituents to be vigilant and to report immediately any suspicious activity. Hajj fraud is a disgraceful example of criminals exploiting a religious pilgrimage for their own personal gain. I am sure all of us condemn that wholeheartedly and will do everything we possibly can to stop it.
Question put and agreed to.