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MOPAC/Police CPI Fraud Reduction Survey

As I’m sure you are aware, fraud continues to profoundly affect the lives of victims and their families. Given the limited investigative resources available, it seems clear that preventing both individuals and businesses becoming victims of fraud in the first place, must form a major element of any sustainable strategy.

I'm a retired Detective Chief Superintendent from the Metropolitan Police, and I'm now leading a project for the Mayor's Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) via Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI). The aim of the project is to assist in preventing people and businesses becoming victims of fraud by raising their awareness and understanding of how fraudsters actually operate.

I want to ensure that the project accurately reflects the experience of victims and that is where I need your help. Whilst official crime figures are available, I’m also aware that many crimes are not reported, so I’ve listed a number of questions below which I hope will allow us to better understand your own experiences.

I understand that you are very busy and I certainly do not wish to add to your workload, however, if we can identify practical and workable strategies to reduce fraud, the long term effect for everyone could be incredible.

Thank you and I look forward to any feedback you can provide by the 31st August 2023.

Best regards,

Peter Barron

Questions

1. Have you ever been a victim of fraud or a scam?
2. What type of fraud/scam was it?
3. What did you do about it?
4. Who did you report the fraud/scam to?
5. If you did not report the fraud/scam, please specify why?
6. Where the fraud was reported to Police and/or Action Fraud, how satisfied were you with the outcome?
7. What did you lose as a result of the fraud/scam?
8. How did the experience of being scammed make you feel?
9. What (if anything) have you done to prevent a recurrence?
10. What types of fraud worry you the most?
11. Following the fraud, have you thought of anything that had you known about, might have alerted you to the scam and helped you avoid becoming a victim?