£1m stolen in financial fraud in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in single year

In total, 332 reported cases across the county in the 2020/21 financial year saw victims lose £1.1 million, according to figures from MoneyTransfers.com which analysed the latest data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

The website found that there were 25,717 cases of cheque, plastic card and online bank account fraud recorded by 44 police forces between April 2020 and March 31, 2021, with victims suffering a combined financial loss of £161.2 million – an average of £6,269 per person.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary ranked 32nd highest for the number of reported cases (332), with the worst month coming in November 2020 (36 cases).

From those who were targeted, the financial loss equated to £1.1 million which is comparable to a personal loss of £3,313 for each individual case.

Metropolitan Police had the highest number of cases (4,224, the equivalent of 12 incidents per day) with an accumulative financial loss of £32.3 million.

In second position was Greater Manchester Police with 1,332 incidences totalling £14.3 million, while West Midlands Police (1,265), Thames Valley Police (971), Kent Police (896) and West Yorkshire Police (873) were among the other police forces which recorded more than 800 cases.

On the other end in 44th position was Cleveland Police which had 124 cases of cheque, plastic card and online bank account fraud.

MoneyTransfers.com is urging people to keep a close eye on their monthly bank statement to make sure there is no unusual activity, and if there is to report it immediately to their bank.

In addition, people are being advised to not use public wi-fi hotspots to access online banking or carry out financial transactions, to only access online banking via a bank’s official website and not by clicking on a link provided in an email, and to make your online banking password as sophisticated as possible.