Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 March (HL6114), why a report of a receipt of a fraudulent approach which did not lead to any further action is not counted as a crime by Action Fraud.

The counting rules for crime, including fraud, stipulate that in such cases an information report should be recorded by Action Fraud either through their online reporting tool or via their contact centre.

These reports are retained in the Know Fraud database as another form of information capable of assisting the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and UK law enforcement in determining lines of enquiry and protective messaging. The majority of such cases result from e-mails or other cyber based approaches generated in very large numbers and not specifically directed to the recipient.