Replacing the UK’s Action Fraud for Inaction Against Scams

Reviewing the Progress Made in the UK to Replace the City of London Police’s Action Fraud

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Authors:
•  SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
•  Alexander Martin, The Record

Replacement for the City of London’s Action Fraud, UK’s Scam, Fraud, and Cybercrime Reporting Service, delayed again until 2025

According to the Record – being reprinted in the public interest – source link above

Action Fraud

The launch date for the repeatedly delayed replacement service for Action Fraud, the much-criticized reporting center for fraud and financially motivated cybercrime in Britain, has again been pushed back, a senior police officer has confirmed to Recorded Future News.

The likely date will be sometime in the spring of 2025, according to Nik Adams, the temporary assistant commissioner at the City of London Police.

In its current form Action Fraud, which is run by the City of London Police, has been described as “not fit for purpose” by the House of Commons Justice Committee amid a surge in the levels of that crime affecting people across the country.

The Public Accounts Committee stated it was “seriously concerned that the failures of Action Fraud in supporting victims of fraud has earned it the nickname ‘Inaction Fraud,’” and echoed the Justice Committee’s findings that the levels of fraud were being driven by shortcomings across the whole of the criminal justice system.

A replacement service aiming to provide more intelligence capabilities to police following incidents of fraud, and better communications to victims who report into the platform, was scheduled to be launched this April. However, in February, officials admitted they had “not been able to achieve” that deadline.

A spokesperson for the City of London Police then said the new service was “planned to go live in 2024, but we have not set a date.”

That broad target of 2024 has now been dropped according to Adams, who told Recorded Future News the force was “currently working to a timeline of the first quarter of 2025.”

Adams then clarified this was the first quarter of the financial year, rather than the calendar year: “So roundabout April or May time 2025 for the formal launch of the new service.”

City of London Police did not explain the cause of the delay. In July, a spokesperson said that work to replace Action Fraud “has progressed in many areas, including essential technical projects that will allow crime reports to be sent out to police forces for consideration for investigation in a timelier and more efficient manner.”

Two companies have been contracted to deliver the replacement service, PwC and Capita, neither of which provided an explanation for the latest delay when asked. A financial services company, TORI, was also recently awarded a £1 million contract “to deliver the technical requirements needed for the new service.”

TORI and PwC declined to comment when contacted by Recorded Future News. A spokesperson for Capita said: “We are committed to delivering an outstanding service Read More …