£1.2 million of fraud prevented in Sussex through the Banking Protocol

Branch staff at banks, building societies and Post Offices worked with the police to stop £1,268.182 of fraud through the Banking Protocol rapid scam response in Sussex in the first half of this year, according to the latest figures from UK Finance

In total, the scheme has prevented £174 million of fraud and led to 934 arrests since its national launch in 2016.

The Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme, launched by UK Finance, National Trading Standards and local police forces. Branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to a scam, before alerting their local police force to intervene and investigate.

The latest figures reveal that branch staff invoked the Banking Protocol 202 times in Sussex between January and June 2021, saving potential victims an average of £11,115 each. Real life case studies from the first half of the year are included at the bottom of this release. Ultimately the scheme led to the arrest of over 10 suspected criminals in Sussex in the first half of this year.

The Banking Protocol was rolled out by Sussex Police in June 2017. Since March 2018, the scheme has been implemented by all 45 police forces across the UK.

It is often used to prevent impersonation scams, in which criminals imitate police or bank staff and convince people to visit their bank and withdraw or transfer large sums of money. It is also used to prevent romance fraud, in which fraudsters use fake online dating profiles to trick victims into transferring money, and to catch rogue traders who demand cash for unnecessary work on properties.

Customers assisted by the scheme are offered ongoing support to help prevent them from falling victim to scams in the future, including referrals to social services, expert fraud prevention advice and additional checks on future transactions.

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime, UK Finance, commented:

“Fraud has a devastating impact on victims so partnerships like the Banking Protocol are not only crucial in helping vulnerable people, but it also stops stolen money from going on to fund other illicit activities including drug smuggling, human-trafficking and terrorism.

“Criminals have continued to capitalise on the pandemic to commit fraud, callously targeting victims through impersonation, romance, courier and rogue trader scams. Branch staff and the police are working on the frontline to protect people from fraud and these figures highlight the importance of their work in stopping these cruel scams and bringing the criminals to justice.

“It’s important that people always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, and remember that a bank or the police will never ask you to transfer funds to another account or to withdraw cash to hand over to them for safe-keeping.”

Bernadette Lawrie BEM, the Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer for Sussex and Surrey Police said:

“This is a great initiative demonstrating how working together with the Banking Sector, we can prevent crime and protect vulnerable victims from financial loss and safeguard them against further targeting”.