More than 21,000 reports of fraud to West Midlands and Staffordshire police forces over past 13 months

New research has revealed that West Midlands Police received 15,829 individual reports, while Staffordshire Police received 5,680.

The analysis, carried out by QR Code Generator QRFY, looked at data from Action Fraud and the Office for National Statistics to uncover how many reports each police force had in England and Wales, and the most common type of fraud.

Over the past 13 months, Action Fraud recorded 395,105 reports of individual fraud across England and Wales – with a reported loss of £2.3 billion – and 89 per cent (351,451) of these reports were found to be filed by individuals.

Of the most common categories of fraud reported, West Midlands Police received 3,200 reports for frauds involving online shopping and auctions; 1,600 reports for other advance fee fraud and 1,200 reports of crimes involving hacking social media accounts and email.

Staffordshire Police received 1,200 reports of frauds involving online shopping and auctions; 504 reports involved cheques and bank accounts and 498 reports were for other advance fee fraud.

Ranking police forces on reported cases of individual fraud per 100,000 people served, West Midlands ranked 13th and Staffordshire was 21st out of 41 police forces.

Speaking on the findings, Marc Porcar, CEO of QRFY, said: “The internet and widespread online connectivity has certainly created more opportunities for fraudsters to exploit people’s vulnerabilities.

"As more transactions and interactions occur online, there is a greater potential for individuals to fall victim to these kinds of scams.

“Fraudsters are constantly developing new techniques that trick people into handing over access to their personal accounts, or finances.

"Large-scale data breaches which expose peoples’ personal information, also make it easier for criminals to impersonate individuals or commit identity theft.”

Marc has shared his top tips for avoiding being scammed online. They are:

• Be cautious about sharing personal information online. Only share information with trusted websites and be wary of unsolicited emails or phone calls requesting personal details. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication. This adds an extra layer of security to your accounts, making it harder for unauthorised individuals to gain access. Strong passwords should be complex and unique, and two-factor authentication requires a second verification step, such as a code sent to your phone, in addition to your password.

• Monitor your accounts regularly. Check your bank statements and credit card reports for any suspicious activity and report any discrepancies immediately. This way you can catch fraudulent activity early and minimise the damage.”