'Financial Crime against Adults' report published today

A City of London Police report published today (Dec 13) reveals how vulnerable adults are being exploited by apparent friends, family, small-time fraudsters and organised criminals alike, suffering losses ranging from a few pounds to millions of pounds.

‘Financial Crime against Adults’, commissioned by the Home Office, Department for Health and ACPO, highlights how victims are slipping through the system of care, left with no savings and reliant on the state to support them in retirement.

Some are so socially isolated that they continue to give money to criminals, even when they realise what is happening, just to maintain some form of human contact.

In other instances, trusted parties within the family or a care environment are stealing assets, including what they perceive as their inheritance, in an attempt to prevent them being used to provide care or comfort to the victim.

The report shows how the impact of financial crime is causing some of the most vulnerable in society to suffer something that can be every bit as significant as physical abuse – in some cases even contributing to a premature death.

It also reveals how previously independent people are being left with nothing after falling victim to organised crime gangs, and to make matters worse are unwilling or unable to engage with any providers of adult social care.

Financial crime is recorded as the second most common type of abuse experienced by older people in the UK, with approximately 86,500 people aged 66 and over subject to financial abuse over a 12 month period. 
This criminality contributes to the UK’s total fraud loss, which the National Fraud Authority (NFA) estimated at £38.4 billion during 2010/11.

‘Financial Crime against Adults’ calls for a more cohesive response from the private sector and public bodies to a crime that leaves many suffering in silence having lost faith in the organisations that should be there to help them.

The report, collated by the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), also highlights how financial crime against vulnerable adults is an evolving threat, with advancements in technology and the diversity and nature of the perpetrators making it harder to find one, all embracing solution to the problem.

These changes mean much of today’s fraud is taking place behind closed doors, often in victim’s homes, with people being conned by apparent friends and family and targeted by organised crime gangs with mass marketing frauds via mail and email.  

Commander of the City of London Police, Ian Dyson, said:

“It is unfortunate that some of the most vulnerable in society continue to slip through the net of social care having fallen victim to a financial crime.

“This report highlights how police and the public and private sector need to continue working together to ensure we have the systems in place that will better protect vulnerable adults from criminals, in all their various forms, and better treat vulnerable adults when they fall victim to financial crime.

“Much good work has already been done to address this problem, but the nature and scale of the threat and the damage it inflicts on people’s lives, and the UK economy, demands an even greater response.” 
ACPO is already using the findings of ‘Financial Crime against Adults’ to develop specific guidance for police forces around safeguarding and investigating the abuse of vulnerable adults, developing training packages with the help of the NPIA.

ACPO lead on vulnerable adults, ACC Gary Cann, said:

“Often financial crime can go unnoticed and raising awareness about the threats and damage caused by such crime is vital.

“This report was commissioned to highlight the current and potential threats to vulnerable adults from economic crime. Partner agencies have provided invaluable advice and have helped to identify good practice as well as areas where we can improve our response to victims of financial crime.

“Through the development of new guidance to assist police officers in investigating this type of crime, as well as improved training in this area, it is hoped that we can learn from any gaps and missed opportunities identified in the past and rectify them for the future, helping to improve the service we are able to offer to victims.”

‘Financial Crime against Adults’ also ties in with the Government’s recently published strategy on Organised Crime, Local to Global, which outlines the measures and steps police will take to reduce victimisation by raising awareness of the tactics used by fraudsters and providing alerts to individuals and businesses to better protect themselves.

Home Office Minister, Lynne Featherstone MP, said:

"Crimes against vulnerable people are despicable, and this report highlights the role that all of us must play in clamping down on them.

"I am determined that government will work across departments and agencies to set the national direction for safeguarding vulnerable adult and that this should remain a core part of police work to protect the public.

"We will continue to work with the police and our other partners to implement measures in our organised crime strategy which will reduce the chance of vulnerable people becoming victims."

Download the 'Financial Crime against Adults' report.

For more information call the City of London Police press office on 020 7601 2220