Fraud soars in South Ayrshire

Cases of fraud have shot up in two areas of Ayrshire in the space of two years, new figures show.

In North Ayrshire, fraud has increased by a whopping 67 per cent, while South Ayrshire has experienced a 64 per cent rise.

In East Ayrshire, the figures have actually come down by 29 per cent.

The statistics come from the Scottish Government and are based on recorded crime to Police Scotland throughout the month of March 2022.

In South Ayrshire, there were 14 cases of fraud during the month of

March 2020 - and that figure rose to 21 in March last year. The figure for March this year stood at 23, representing a 10 per cent increase on 2021 - but a 64 per cent increase from 2020.

In North Ayrshire, 15 cases of fraud were investigated during the month of March 2020. The figure increased to 34 in March last year. And while 25 cases were reported during March this year, representing a 26 per cent decrease on 2021, there’s been an overall increase by 67 per cent, when compared to March 2020. In East Ayrshire, 21 cases of fraud were recorded in March 2020. This figure rose to 33 in the month of March last year. In March this year, just 15 cases were recorded, representing a 29 per cent decrease.

South Scotland Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey said: “While Police Scotland do a terrific job at reaching out to residents to make them aware of fraudsters.” She added: “I’ll be calling on the SNP to give Police Scotland fairer funding.”

A spokesperson for justice secretary Keith Brown said the criticism from the Tories on Scotland’s justice system reeked of “hypocrisy,” adding: “Unlike the Tories, who disregard fraud as a lesser crime, we take very seriously the profound impact fraud has on its victims.”