New fraud prevention power will save £millions

Following Royal Assent to the Serious Crime Bill today, CIFAS - The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service welcomed the new provisions that will allow public authorities to step up their fraud prevention measures by engaging in appropriate data sharing with one or more specified anti-fraud organisations.

CIFAS Chief Executive, Peter Hurst, commented “This is very good news for all those in fraud prevention and equally bad news for fraudsters. It is well-known that the same fraudsters who steal from the private sector also target the public sector. Sharing of such data in the private sector already saves nearly £1 billion per annum that would otherwise be lost to fraud. The extension of this to include public authorities will benefit both sectors by leading to increased fraud prevention and significant savings both to commerce and to the public purse.”