Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what legal protections are available to fraud victims to prevent further (a) exploitation and (b) financial loss.

This Government is committed to working with law enforcement, civil society and industry to better protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime.

Frauds with a total financial loss of £2.4 billion were reported to Action Fraud between November 2023 and November 2024. NFIB Dashboard (Public) (arcgis.com) This is likely to underestimate the full impact of fraud to the economy as fraud is underreported.

According to the Action Fraud Dashboard as of the 20th of December 2024, in its reporting period of 13-months, 64% of reported fraud was cyber enabled. This means that in the last 13-months, roughly 223,000 reported frauds were cyber-enabled. The Action Fraud dashboard only provides data for the last 13-months therefore does not cover the whole of the 23/24 period. NFIB Dashboard (Public)

Victims of fraud can suffer both serious financial and emotional harm. The Code of Practice for Victims sets out the services and a minimum standard of services that must be provided to victims of crime by organisations in England and Wales.

In addition to support offered by investigating offers, the Home Office has supported the rollout of the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit (NECVCU). This is a focused and targeted service providing victims of fraud and cyber crime, with not only a consistent and high-quality response, but also a national standard of care and support. The aim of NECVCU is for victims to feel safe and more confident following contact, whilst assisting them to cope and recover from the crime and significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation. Since its inception in 2018, NECVCU has supported 440,994 victims of fraud. Since January 2021, NECVCU has also helped victims recover £3,685,201.

The Home Office has provided funding to City of London Police to create a coordinated police Fraud Protect Network. The network is made up of local, regional and national law enforcement officers and is designed to reduce the threat of fraud and revictimisation by providing consistent protect messaging and safeguarding advice to the public.

Authorised Push Payment scams came into force in October, ensuring more victims get their money back. Reimbursement was already in place for victims of unauthorised fraud.

In addition, the Proceeds of Crime Act (‘POCA’) allows the recovery of the proceeds of crime from criminals and returns the funds to victims, or back into law enforcement and prosecution agencies. Seized assets can be returned to victims at sentencing through a ‘compensation order’ that compensates loss or damage caused by the convicted person, including for fraud offences. Victims can also apply for any criminal funds that have been seized by law enforcement to be returned to them where they are the original owner.

The Home Office also continues to engage with banks, trade organisations and third sector organisations to ensure proper advice and support for victims of fraud. Our “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign helps people spot and avoid fraud, and provides fraud prevention and recovery advice. Stop! Think Fraud - How to stay safe from scams

The Home Office and College of Policing are reviewing the fundamental training offered to police officers with regards to tackling fraud, including digital skills, to identify opportunities for improvement. The Home Office is also working across law enforcement and the public sector to develop and deliver a “Workforce Strategy” for Economic Crime. This will address recruitment and retention challenges for Economic Crime, including fraud. This will also consider opportunities to exchange people and counter-fraud skills across the public and private sectors.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The Council is independent of Parliament and Government. As an independent body, the Council decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and reviewing guidelines. The Lord Chancellor or the Court of Appeal can ask the Council to consider reviewing or producing guidelines in a particular area, but the Council is not required to agree to any such requests.

The Sentencing Guidelines for Fraud Offences were published in 2014. The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so.