Financial crime against individuals has reached epidemic proportions. One of the most damaging financial crimes is investment fraud, where people are scammed out of their savings. Investment fraud is one of the “the most damaging” aspects of financial crime, which “has reached epidemic proportions” with a growing number of investors scammed out of their savings, according to the chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Charles Randell.
Under-reported and under-recorded
In the UK, the Crime Survey for England and Wales puts the total volume of fraud affecting individuals at 3.8 million cases, around one-third of the total volume of 11.2 million crimes. The problem is most likely worse than that figure suggests, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as fraud is significantly under-reported and under-recorded with fewer than one in six incidents reported to either the police or Action Fraud.
The statements of the FCA Chairman are in line with the findings of FinTelegram and EFRI. Many victims of
