Total value of fraud cases in Yorkshire increased by 738 per cent figures show

The total value of the ten cases heard from January – June 2021 was £7.4 million, up from £887,550 in the same period last year and higher than all of the Yorkshire cases heard in 2020 combined.

The Fraud Barometer, which records fraud cases of more than £100,000 reaching UK courts and identifies the latest fraud trends and patterns, also found that the number of alleged fraud crimes heard in courts across Yorkshire in the first half of 2021 rose by 400% when compared to the same period last year, as courts started to tackle the backlog of cases caused by the pandemic.

The Government, followed by general public and commercial businesses were those targeted by the fraudsters, making up 50%, 30% and 20% of the cases respectively. By value, Professional criminals were responsible for the highest combined value (£5.4 million), followed by employees (£1.2 million) then management (£525k).

Annette Barker, Head of Forensic at KPMG UK, said: “Professional criminals, alongside opportunistic fraudsters, have seized the opportunity to take advantage of people, businesses and government during the pandemic, with the value of such activities making a significant increase.

WNew government support mechanisms to get us through the challenges of the pandemic have opened a door for potential opportunistic fraudulent activity.

“The public must also try to remain aware of the latest scams and be cautious, but more can be definitely be done around awareness of tactics and areas of focus for these criminals to try to reduce the amount of these types of crimes.

“Finally, businesses need to put in place more robust measures and internal controls to protect themselves from internal and external fraud.”

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Thank you

James Mitchinson