Warrington scam victims lose £42,359

TRADING Standards chiefs in Warrington received 427 “scam-related” complaints last year – with reported losses to local people of £42,359.
In one case, a resident lost £26,500 to a fraudulent diamond investment scam – having previously fallen victim to a betting scam.
Investigation by Trading Standards revealed that the individual’s details had been placed on a “Sucker’s List” by the fraudster to flag them up as a potential repeat target.
Fortunately, officers were able to block the next phase of the fraud in which the fraudster would have offered to re-coup lost investments for a fee.
In total, Trading Standards received 3,837 complaints – a 19 per cent increase and reflective of the challenging economic climate.
Of these, 918 required investigation by an officers for alleged criminal offences.
The figures have been revealed in the borough council’s annual report on anti-fraud, bribery and corruption activities.
Two “significant investigations” by Internal Audit are reported – with Internal Audit officers and other council officers still involved in an ongoing case that is currently being investigated by the police and remains confidential for operational reasons.
However, the report states that the council has effective procedures in place to prevent and detect inaccuracies and fraud.
An example of what action the council is taking includes taking part in data matching as part of the National Fraud Initiative. This important exercise matches data across organisations and systems to help public bodies identify potentially fraudulent claims and transactions.
Two more initiatives are the Fighting Fraud in Cheshire and The Who’s Home initiatives which received funding from the Counter Fraud Fund in December last year.
These schemes are designed to investigate areas of high risk fraud, carry out proactive forensic analysis, provide further training for staff and tackle tenancy and council tax discount fraud.
Cllr Russ Bowden (pictured), the council’s lead member for corporate finance, said: “It is important to recognise that we have the right systems in place to help us tackle fraud.
“This is all about protecting our residents from fraud and catching those responsible as these systems help us to prevent and detect fraud across a wide range of areas, including internal fraud, benefits fraud and scams affecting consumers in Warrington.
“Having effective procedures in place can also have a positive impact on the council’s financial position through recovery of overpayments or financial penalties imposed on fraudsters.
“The number of reported cases of fraud in Warrington remains low in comparison with other authorities but we are not complacent. We have new initiatives coming into the forefront such as the Fighting Fraud in Cheshire which will enable us to carry on with the fight and the message is clear – fraud, bribery and corruption will not be tolerated.”