Fraud Strategy 2026-29
Debate between Adam Dance and David Burton-Sampson(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of increasing fraud protections and the Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029.
It is a pleasure to lead this debate with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris, and I thank the Minister for being here.
Fraud has been spreading like the plague for years, infecting almost every aspect of daily life: online, on the phone, at work or out and about. People do not know who or what to trust. Fraud costs the UK economy more than £1 billion a year, yet sentencing is well below its 2010 level. In 2025, British consumers lost £1.2 billion to fraud—a four-year high.
What does that rise mean? My constituent’s small business in Ilton was scammed out of more than £3,000worth of orders through a credit card scam, wiping out their business. Another constituent’s elderly mother had debts run up by an estranged relative, who used her details to the extent that bailiffs came round. Another constituent was tricked into investing hundreds of thousands of pounds into a building company that then shut down. Lots of constituents have been defrauded out of thousands of pounds by tradespeople for half-done work or work that never actually happened.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. My constituents have similar concerns about the impact of fraud, especially on vulnerable people. I have spoken to the noble Lord Hanson, who has been developing the strategy, to outline those concerns. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the direction in the new UK fraud strategy, the expansion of the “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign and the promotion of proactive policing are good things that should be welcomed?
Adam Dance
They are good things and I will come on to them later, but we do need more support for vulnerable adults and young people—something I will also come on to.