Police step up their efforts in battle to beat the fraudsters

MORE THAN 15,600 PEOPLE HAVE FALLEN VICTIM IN YEAR

- NEAL KEELING

A TOTAL of 15,623 people from Greater Manchester were victims of fraud in the last year.

The incidents were logged with Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, managed by the City of London Police.

The most common category of fraud recorded was 'Online Shopping and Auction' fraud, which refers to the non-delivery of products bought by a consumer or the misrepresentation of a product. Of these there were 3,100 instances.

The second most common was 'Other Advance Fee Fraud' for which 1,500 incidents were reported. The third highest - 1,200 I was 'Cheque, Plastic Cards, and Online Bank Account' which refers to cases where criminals pretend to be someone with authority asking individuals to use their credit cards, debit cards, repayment cards, store cards and cheques that are linked to a bank account, ultimately resulting in a loss for the individual.

Last year Stockport was highlighted as a hotspot' for romance fraud. Working with the City of London Police, ducted GMP targeted prevention advice in locations across Stockport, such as supermarkets and shopping centres and created a social media campaign to increase awareness of this type of offence. As a result romance fraud in Stockport fell by a third.

One romance fraud victim in Greater Manchester was manipulated into sending £9,200 to fraudsters. GMP have supported the victim in getting a full refund from her bank.