Fraud victims not getting help

[12 September 2008]

One of Britain's top prosecutors has said that victims of fraud should get more help, as currently they are 'lucky' to get their case investigated.

The crime is said to be increasing because of the credit crunch. David Kirk, director of the Fraud Prosecution Service for England and Wales, has called for more dedicated officers to be deployed around the country to deal with fraud. Although fraud costs an estimated £20billion a year, Mr Kirk said that restraints on police budgets has led to fraud squad officers dropping from 600 to 400 over the past decade. In 2007, the government changed the rules relating to banking fraud, so that banks now handle fraud complaints and decide whether or not to refer them to the police. However, the number of cases has doubled in the two years since the Fraud Prosecution Service was launched.

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