Tag: National Crime Agency

New blueprint to protect public from scammers

UK Government launches new strategy to cut fraud, pursue fraudsters and empower the public

A new elite team of specialist investigators will turn the tables on fraudsters as part of the UK Government’s new action to tackle fraud and stop scammers from exploiting people.

The new National Fraud Squad will overhaul how these crimes are investigated by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach, backed by 400 new specialist investigators. It will work with local forces, international partners and the UK intelligence community to ensure that callous fraud cells who target millions of Brits each day are shut down.

Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with 1 in 15 of us falling victim, costing nearly £7 billion a year. With developments in modern technology opening up new avenues for criminals to target victims, 9 in 10 internet users have also encountered online scams.

The Fraud Strategy, unveiled yesterday, marks a step forward in the government’s fight back against scammers, in response to how these crimes have evolved.

New measures will close the routes that scammers use to target victims, including by banning cold calls on all financial products – such as types of insurance or sham crypto currency schemes – and working with Ofcom to use new technology to further clamp down on number ‘spoofing’, so fraudsters cannot impersonate legitimate UK phone numbers.

Government will also ban other devices or methods commonly harnessed by scammers to reach thousands of people at once such as so-called ‘SIM farms’ and review the use of mass texting services to keep these technologies out of the hands of criminals.

To make it easier for victims to report fraud and rebuild confidence that cases are being dealt with properly, a new system, replacing the current Action Fraud service will be up and running within the year.

Backed by a £30 million investment, it will provide a simpler route for reporting fraud online, with reduced waiting times and an online portal to allow victims to get timely updates on the progress of their case.

This improved service will also ensure victims’ reports are acted upon more effectively, using data to ensure we can continue to build intelligence as criminals continue to find new ways to target victims.

Seventy per cent of fraud in the UK either starts overseas or has an international link – to drive forward global efforts to tackle these crimes, the government will work bilaterally to raise fraud as a key priority. The Home Secretary will host the first global fraud summit in the UK to guarantee international collaboration to tackle this threat.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: Scammers ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways in order to line their pockets.

“We will take the fight to these fraudsters, wherever they try to hide. By blocking scams at the source, boosting protections for people and bolstering enforcement, we will stop more of these cold-hearted crimes from happening in the first place and make sure justice is done.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Fraud is a blight on our country with ruthless criminals scamming the British public out of their hard-earned cash. They exploit people’s trust and steal their life savings, shattering their confidence and leaving them feeling vulnerable.

“It also fuels serious organised crime and terrorism. Meanwhile scammers are adapting, taking advantage of new technology to prey on more victims.

“It is vital we adopt a new approach to this threat. The Fraud Strategy outlines how we will use all levers available to us – through government, law enforcement, industry and international partners – to track down these criminals, intercept their scams and bring them to justice.”

To push the response to fraud at the highest level, a new Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP, has been appointed. He will draw on his considerable experience as the former CEO of the British Banking Association to drive collaboration with industry and represent the UK internationally.

Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP said: “Fraud has grown to be the biggest form of crime in the UK, causing financial and emotional distress to millions of people.

“The tech sector, phone companies and financial services firms must take responsibility for protecting their users by stopping fraud happening in the first place, and work together to design out fraud. We can use the technologies fraudsters are exploiting against them to stop them in their tracks, and I will work with industry to make sure that happens.”

In plans announced yesterday, banks will be allowed to delay payments from being processed for longer to allow for suspicious payments to be investigated, keeping cash out of the hands of fraudsters and stopping more people from falling victim.

We are working with the largest tech companies to make it as simple as possible to report fraud online, whether it be scam adverts or false celebrity endorsements. This means, regardless of which social media platform you are on, you should be able to find the ‘report’ button within a single click, and ‘report fraud or scam’ within another. TikTok and Snapchat already offer this for adverts but have committed to extending to other types of content.

Further measures include:

  • rolling out tailored support to victims at a local level across the whole of England and Wales through the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit
  • launching an independent review of the challenges in investigating and prosecuting fraud to speed up the justice process, punishing more scammers and ensuring sentences match the severity of the impact on victims
  • deploying the UK intelligence community to identify and disrupt more fraudsters overseas
  • publishing regular data on the volume of fraudulent content hosted on different websites and platforms to incentivise companies to root these out and better protect users – government will launch a consultation on how best to deliver this, including regularity of publications

Wednesday’s plans build on action already taken to step up protections for victims and clamp down on the criminals responsible for these crimes. That includes:

  • legislating to ensure more victims of fraud get their money back, by requiring financial institutions to reimburse victims of authorised fraud
  • making fraud a national priority for police forces, to help ramp up the response at local force level
  • investing £400 million for law enforcement to tackle economic crime, including fraud, over the next 3 years
  • new duties on tech companies through the Online Safety Bill to put systems in place to tackle scams on their platforms and publish annual transparency reports on their work to tackle online harms

Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency, said: “The NCA welcomes the new Fraud Strategy and our role in the National Fraud Squad.

“Through the National Economic Crime Centre, we will drive a proactive intelligence led response, holding fraudsters to account and protecting the public from criminals who operate increasingly online and overseas.

“We want fraudsters to feel the same vulnerability they inflict upon their victims, as we target their infrastructure, expose their identities and bring them to justice.”

Commissioner Angela McLaren from the City of London Police, which is the National Lead Force for fraud, said: “We welcome this strategy and the much-needed investment in policing to deliver against it. 

“Tackling fraud requires a collective effort and we will continue to work with our partners across law enforcement and industry, doing everything in our power to pursue fraudsters and reduce the devastating harm they cause.”

Online Safety Bill amendment: No hiding place for child sex offenders

Greater powers to tackle child sexual abuse online will be introduced through an amendment to the Online Safety Bill, the Home Secretary announced yesterday (Wednesday 6 July 2022).

The amendment will give Ofcom extra tools to ensure technology companies take action to prevent, identify and remove harmful child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) content.

Ofcom, the UK’s regulatory authority for telecommunications, will be able to demand that technology companies such as social media platforms roll out or develop new technologies to better detect and tackle harmful content on their platforms. If they fail to do so, Ofcom will be able to impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of the company’s global annual turnover, depending on which is higher.

Home Secretary, Priti Patel said: “Child sexual abuse is a sickening crime. We must all work to ensure criminals are not allowed to run rampant online and technology companies must play their part and take responsibility for keeping our children safe.

“Privacy and security are not mutually exclusive – we need both, and we can have both and that is what this amendment delivers.”

The National Crime Agency estimate there are between 550,000 to 850,000 people in the UK who pose a sexual risk to children. In the year to 2021, there were 33,974 obscene publications offences recorded by the police, and although some improvements have been made, it is still too easy for offenders to access harmful content online.

Access to such content online can lead to offenders normalising their own consumption of this content, sharing methods with each other on how to evade detection, and escalation to committing contact child sexual abuse offences.

Digital Minister, Nadine Dorries said: “Tech firms have a responsibility not to provide safe spaces for horrendous images of child abuse to be shared online. Nor should they blind themselves to these awful crimes happening on their sites.

Rob Jones, NCA Director General for child sexual abuse, said: “Technology plays an extremely important part in our daily lives and its benefits are undeniable.

“But it is also a fact that online platforms can be a key tool in a child abuser’s arsenal. They use them to view and share abuse material, seek out and groom potential victims, and to discuss their offending with each other.

“Identifying these individuals online is crucial to us uncovering the real-world abuse of children.

“We are taking significant action in this space and, alongside UK policing, we are making record numbers of arrests and safeguards every month.

“While this will always be a priority, we need tech companies to be there on the front line with us and these new measures will ensure that.”

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “We need urgent action to protect children from preventable online abuse. Our latest analysis shows online grooming crimes have jumped by more than 80% in four years.

“The Online Safety Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure children can explore the online world safely.

“This amendment will strengthen protections around private messaging and ensure companies have a responsibility to build products with child safety in mind. This positive step shows there doesn’t have to be a trade-off between privacy and detecting and disrupting child abuse material and grooming.”

The amendment will support innovation and the development of safety technologies across the technology industry and will incentivise companies in building solutions to tackle CSEA which are effective and proportionate.

The government-funded Safety Tech Challenge Fund is demonstrating that is it is possible to detect child sexual abuse material in end-to-end encrypted environments, while respecting user privacy.

You can also read the Home Secretary’s op-ed for the The Telegraph.

Czech man convicted of money laundering offences

A 42-year-old man from the Czech Republic has today, Monday, 1 February 2021, been convicted of money laundering offences after being arrested at Glasgow Airport as part of a Police Scotland and National Crime Agency (NCA) intelligence-led investigation into the export of cash from the United Kingdom to Dubai.

On 8 November 2020, Lukas Pokorny was stopped and arrested by Border Force officers as he was about to board a flight bound for Dubai.

A search of three suitcases in his possession revealed a large quantity of cash in each – totalling over £860,000. He was unable to provide keys to unlock the luggage, or say who they belonged to or what they contained.

Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) charged Pokorny and today he pled guilty to three charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 at the High Court in Glasgow.

Pokorny claimed he was flying to the United Arab Emirate to stay with a friend and the money was to allow him to teach people to jet-ski.

Detective Inspector Tom Gillan of the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) said: “Targeting the movement of criminal cash and profits from organised crime groups in Scotland remains a priority.

“The arrest and conviction of Pokorny is another excellent example of the value of partnership working between Organised Crime Partnership, Border Force and National Crime Agency officers.

“I welcome his conviction and the significant amount of laundered cash that has been taken out of criminal circulation.”

NCA regional head of investigations for Scotland Gerry McLean added: “This was a significant seizure of criminal cash, the proceeds of organised crime. Taking it out in has prevented that money being invested into further criminal activity, violence and exploitation on the streets of Scotland.

“Working with partners including Police Scotland and Border Force we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the flow of illicit finance.”

The Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) is an investigation team comprising of officers and staff from Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency.

National police operation brings down serious crime network

Police Scotland continues to work with partners to severely disrupt the activities of serious and organised criminals operating in Scotland – following the seizure of controlled drugs with a street value of over £25 million in recent weeks.

Cocaine, heroin, cannabis, herbal cannabis and thousands of Etizolam tablets have been recovered and officers have arrested 59 people. Over £7 million of laundered cash and a number of firearms, ammunition, explosives and industrial pill presses have also been seized. Six stolen cars and a stolen motorcycle have also been recovered.

Activity has taken place across the country as part of Operation Venetic – the most significant ever UK operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police forces across the UK.

The operation has culminated in the takedown of Encrochat, an encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals, which offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service. The company’s encryption has now been cracked by an international law enforcement team.

In Scotland, more than 50 warrants have been executed by hundreds of officers at addresses throughout the country.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Angela McLaren said: “Police Scotland’s is absolutely committed to disrupting those involved in serious and organised crime in Scotland.

“These intelligence-led proactive operations, which have been undertaken in partnership with the NCA, UK police forces and Border Force, have resulted in some of the largest seizures made by the service.

“Keeping people safe and continuing to make the country a hostile environment for those who seek to bring misery to our communities through their organised criminality remains a priority for Police Scotland.

“This underlines our commitment to the country’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy through the SOC Taskforce and our collective determination to target those involved and strike at the very centre of their illicit operations. Criminals do not recognise borders and we have been working closely with our UK and European law enforcement partners throughout this intense period of activity.

“We recognise the impact that serious and organised crime has on individuals and communities. I would urge anyone who has information that can assist us in tackling criminality, or anyone that needs our help or support, to get in touch with Police Scotland or  Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Jennifer Harrower, Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework, said: “These recent operations by law enforcement in Scotland exemplify our determination and capability to pursue those involved in serious and organised crime and halt the damage they do to our local communities.

“These seizures and arrests are the result of months of extensive work, but it doesn’t stop there. COPFS will use all the available resources to bring to justice those who seek to profit from serious and organised crime. This includes staff and prosecutors who are experts in preparing and prosecuting these kind of cases, and a raft of legislation created in Scotland specifically to target serious and organised criminals.

“Beyond this, we will seek Serious Crime Prevention Orders to provide security for communities when those prosecuted are released from prison, and pursue them for their proceeds of crime to be restored to the communities where they belong.”

Gerry Mclean, the NCA’s Regional Head of Investigations for Scotland, said: “This piece of activity in Scotland and across the UK was unprecedented in scale. It is without doubt the broadest and deepest ever operation into serious organised crime, with the people targeted at the top end of the criminal tree.

“The NCA has worked with international partners and every single police force across the UK, but the extraordinary results we have had here is testimony to the partnership we have with Police Scotland, the support from COPFs and the strategy set by Scotland’s Organised Crime Task Force.

“By working together we have had tremendous success in penetrating organised criminal networks, seizing huge amounts of criminal cash, stopping firearms and drugs reaching our streets and protecting the people of Scotland.”

Father and son charged after major drug seizure

A father and son have been charged as part of a joint National Crime Agency and Police Scotland investigation into the large-scale importation of the new psychoactive substance kratom.

The pair, aged 60 and 38, were arrested as officers from the Organised Crime Partnership executed two warrants in the Bathgate area of West Lothian on Tuesday 12 May.

The arrests followed two seizures of kratom made by Border Force, one of 52 kilos at Edinburgh Airport on 15 April, and another of 102 kilos at East Midlands Airport on 6 May.

Kratom is a controlled substance under the New Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, traditionally grown in south-east Asia and used as a stimulant with opioid-like properties.

The two men were charged with importation, possession with intent to supply and offering for supply the drug, and have both been released pending a summons to appear before court on a future date.

Investigations are continuing.

NCA Scotland operations manager John McGowan said: “We estimate these seizures would have had a combined value of around £60,000 once sold on the black market.

“Kratom is a dangerous drug, and working with partners like Police Scotland and Border Force we are determined to do all we can to prevent such substances making it on to our streets and damaging the communities of Scotland.”

Deputy Director Murdo MacMillan, head of Border Force Scotland, said: “These seizures have taken a large amount of dangerous psychoactive substances out of the hands of organised criminals and off our streets.

“Border Force will continue to work with the NCA and Police Scotland to bring those involved in smuggling to justice.”

Scale of organised crime “truly staggering”

There are at least 181,000 offenders linked to serious and organised crime in the UK, the National Crime Agency has revealed, as it launched its most comprehensive study yet of ‘the deadliest threat facing the nation’.

The figure – more than twice the strength of the regular British Army – is a conservative estimate as it only takes into account known members of organised crime groups and offenders operating on the worst child abuse dark web sites. Continue reading Scale of organised crime “truly staggering”

Nearly 7000 potential victims of slavery and trafficking reported last year

The number of potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery reported to the authorities has risen by more than 80 per cent in two years, according to figures released by the National Crime Agency today.

The National Referral Mechanism end of year summary (648 KB) shows that in 2018 6993 potential victims were referred into the system, up from 5142 in 2017, and 3804 in 2016.

Potential victims from 130 different countries were identified, and for the second consecutive year British citizens made up the largest nationality (1,625), with Albanians (947) and Vietnamese (702) second and third.

The number of British citizens reported was almost double the number from 2017, while the numbers of minors referred increased by 48 per cent. Both increases were driven by the numbers referred for labour exploitation, which includes those exploited for criminal purposes by ‘County Lines’ gangs.

Overall those referred in the labour exploitation category made up more than half of the total number.

NCA Deputy Director Roy McComb said: “The increase is undoubtedly the result of greater awareness, understanding and reporting of modern slavery and that is something to be welcomed.

“However, the more we look the more we find, and it is likely these figures represent only a snapshot of the true scale of slavery and trafficking in the UK.

“Of particular concern is the increase in referrals made for ‘county lines’ type exploitation. These are often vulnerable individuals – often children – who are exploited by criminal gangs for the purposes of drug trafficking.

“Our understanding of the threat is much greater than it was a few years ago, and modern slavery remains a high priority for law enforcement, with around 1,500 criminal investigations currently live in the UK.

“But we cannot stop modern slavery alone, we need support and assistance from across the public and private sectors, NGOs and most of all the public themselves.”

The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for identifying victims of modern slavery or human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. It is also the mechanism through which data is collected about victims, helping to build a clearer picture about the scope of the threat.

Under the existing NRM process potential victims are referred by ‘first responders’, including police, public bodies and a number of specified NGOs to one of two competent authorities, the NCA’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit for EEA nationals, and the Home Office for non-EEA cases, to make a decision about their status.

From 29 April 2019 this will change when the Home Office becomes the single competent authority for dealing with referrals. This is part of a package of reforms to the NRM announced by the government in October 2017 to improve identification of and support for victims of modern slavery.