Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, has welcomed the drop in violent and neighbourhood crime since 2010 but called on the Prime Minister to take tough action on fraud.
During his time as an MP serving Hinckley and Bosworth, Dr Evans has dealt with a rising number of fraud related cases, which the MP says is a “growing concern for him and the community.”
In Prime Minister’s Questions on May 10th, the local MP spoke of how cross-party MPs will have been contacted by constituents who had sadly been the victims of fraud and asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak how he plans to deal with it.
New technology means fraud has become the UK’s most prevalent crime, constituting 41 per cent of all crime in England and Wales with more than 3 million adults falling victim to fraud last year.
The recently announced Fraud Strategy will pursue fraudsters and bring them to justice, ban cold calls on financial products and make it easier to report fraud, if and when it does occur, online.
The Government commits to working with telecommunications businesses to stop fraud at the source, including fraudulent text messages and cold calling, and placing a duty on social media companies to prevent fraud.
To combat rising cases of fraud, the Government has appointed a new £100 million National Fraud Squad led by the National Crime Agency and the City of London Police – backed by 400 new posts – as well as investing £30 million in a state-of-the-art reporting centre which will be up and running in the year. The Government is currently bringing in new laws such as outlawing so-called “SIM farms”, technical devices which allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of people at the same time.
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, asked “Since 2010, violent crime has dropped by 38% and neighbourhood crime has dropped by over 50%, but one crime that has gone up is fraud. Many of us have dealt with constituents who have struggled with fraud. What is the Prime Minister going to do about it?”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The Member for Bosworth is absolutely right. Some 40% of all crime is now fraud. It is damaging for people’s wellbeing as well as harming their finances.
“That is why the Home Secretary and I recently launched a new plan to combat fraud, with significant new investment, hundreds of new officers to tackle it and action on social media companies to empower people to take action and stop fraud happening in the first place. It represents the most comprehensive plan to tackle this issue and will make a big difference to families everywhere.”
Commenting after his question to the Prime Minister, Dr Evans added “I have raised the rise in fraud cases a number of times in the House, having worked on behalf of constituents who have sadly fallen victim to scam phone calls, emails and websites.
“Some of the most vulnerable people in our community, including pensioners and those with disabilities, are targeted by ruthless criminals who seek to take other people’s hard-earned money for themselves.
“With emerging technologies making it even harder to detect what’s real or not, I welcome the Government’s commitment to cutting fraud and will work to support constituents so they have the tools to recognise, avoid and report fraud in the future.”
