West Mercia Police inspector warns people of risks of new frauds and scams

An inspector from West Mercia Police says they are starting to see newer versions of frauds and scams as a result of the growth in technology.

The force is urging people to listen to the advice that's out there when it comes to potential cases.

Daniel Fenn is from the economic crime and cyber team, and says they are committed to tackling these new methods, but it's also important people report any scams they do see.

He said: "We're moving away from those historic fraud offences, such as uses of cards and false cheques and stuff like that, and then we're moving into a more digital era with cyber enabled criminality, which is Facebook scams, phishing emails, artificial intelligence.

"There are no particular trends to it, but it sometimes can be season dependent, so if you look at the fact we're here in the festival season at the moment, we might see a spike in fake tickets that people are buying online.

"It's really important to report any cases that you see, even if you think it's minor, as every single report could then pick up trends and pick up other victims that might not realise they are victims.

"The more it's reported, the more we can focus on identifying the offenders."

Accounting company BDO's latest fraud report showed the volume of fraud in the UK in 2023 was reported at £2.3 billion.

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