Fraud helpline staff ‘mock victims’

A FRAUD helpline is misleading victims by suggesting their cases will be investigated even though most are dismissed out of hand, it was reported last night.

An undercover probe found managers at Action Fraud mocked victims as ‘morons’, ‘screwballs’ and ‘psychos’, while staff are trained to trick callers into thinking they are talking to the police.

Last year there were an estimated 3.6million online and cold-calling scams. As few as one in 50 fraud reports leads to a suspect being caught.

Victims are told to report their cases to Action Fraud, which is overseen by City of London Police but serves the entire UK. The day-to-day running of its call centre has been outsourced to US firm Concentrix. A reporter from The Times discovered that many staff are school-leavers who take victims’ reports after just two weeks’ training. Many were filmed sleeping on the job and taking calls while using their phones.

Managers were recorded saying the police ‘do absolutely everything in their power to avoid’ investigating fraud cases.

Recruits are told to make snap decisions on filing calls as a ‘crime report’ or an ‘information report’. About half are filed as the latter, which are unlikely to be investigated. If a victim’s bank details are stolen, their cases are only filed as crime reports if their bank refuses to reimburse them. Likewise, a cold call is only filed as a crime report if the victim has lost money or called the company back. Last year, Action Fraud filed 270,000 crime reports, of which only 10,000 led to a suspect being caught.

Police Scotland figures from April to December 2018 show reported fraud incidents increased by 21 per cent, from 6,106 for the same period in the previous year to 7,398 in 2018.

Commander Karen Baxter, national lead for economic crime for the force, said: ‘The majority of the staff who work for Action Fraud do a good job in sometimes difficult circumstances, and we would not want this to deter the public from coming forward and reporting fraud.’

Concentrix said it was ‘investigating fully’ and certain individuals had been suspended.