Police fighting ‘losing battle’ with scammers as 96pc escape prosecution

♦ Police are failing to catch 96 per cent of fraudsters, a Which? study has found. The consumer body said its analysis of available figures show most crimes reported to Action Fraud were closed without a successful outcome and suggested a “losing battle” was being fought.

It also found that 29 out of 30 police forces which responded to a Freedom of Information request asking them to provide data on fraud investigations had seen their performance slip between 2014 and 2016.

Ceri Stanaway, the Which? Money editor, said: “The shockingly low success rate for fraud investigations is leaving many victims deprived of justice and suggests the authorities are fighting a losing battle against this type of crime.”

City of London Police, which runs Action Fraud, said: “Fraud is the fastest-growing crime in the UK and this means it is not always possible for every report of fraud to result in a judicial outcome.”

It added that the force’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau disrupts email addresses, bank accounts and phone lines associated with fraudulent activity. It said in 2016-17, 170,856 disruption requests were made.

A spokesman for UK Finance, the trade association, said it last year prevented £2 in every £3 of attempted fraud.