Police drive tocurb victimsof fraudsters

The 13-day initiative will identify common myths and let people know the possible ways to avoid falling into the fraudsters’ trap.

The county’s force has teamed up with Action Fraud and the City of London Police for the drive.

Day one of the campaign focuses on dating fraud. Many people believe that those joining dating websites are vetted before they are allowed to have a membership. The reality is that most of these websites allow people to sign up without vetting checks, which means that fraudsters are able to use the website to target people online and defraud them.

In the last financial year 3,543 people reported to Action Fraud that they had been a victim of dating fraud.

The final day will look at whether it is always safe to make charitable donations to street collectors or via charity mailing. In reality, most collections are genuine but people are urged to ask whether the charity is registered.

Action Fraud received 1199 reports of charity fraud in 2014/15,

Detective Inspector Rob King, head of the Derbyshire Constabulary Economic Crime Unit, added: “Fraudsters are continuously finding new ways to convince their victims to part with their hard-earned cash, leaving the person upset and embarrassed, often with empty pockets. We hope by sharing information and shattering these myths, we can help to break stereotypes and show how everyone can be vulnerable to fraud.”