National Courier Fraud Practitioners Day

16 Oct 2019 02:17 PM

Police officers and staff from across the country are set to attend a special national Courier Fraud Practitioners Day, tomorrow (Thursday, 17 October).

The event, hosted by Leicestershire Police, has been organised by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s Intelligence Development Team (NFIB IDT) and will bring together a host of law enforcement agencies involved in combatting courier fraud and the resultant harm.

Over the course of the day, participants will engage in discussion and share their experiences of courier fraud with the aim of developing strategies in a number of areas, including: the pursuit of offenders, protecting victims and preventing future offending.

In addition to identifying best practice from around the country, the event also plans to showcase the innovative work being carried out by NFIB IDT in regards to this high impact crime type.

Courier fraud takes place when fraudsters contact a victim pretending to be from their bank or the police. They claim there is an issue with the victim’s bank account or request their assistance with an ongoing bank or police investigation.

The ultimate aim of the call is to trick the victim into parting with their money either in person, online, or via a money service bureau or bank. They may even ask the victim to buy high value goods, foreign currency or gift cards such as iTunes.

Despite affecting over 1,200 people a year, predominantly targeting those over 75 years of age and causing over £5.5 million of losses, it is believed that courier fraud is still significantly underreported.

The national co-ordination role, which the NFIB IDT seeks to adopt, will bring together exactly the kinds of skills and knowledge which is essential in combating this devastating fraud perpetrated against some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.