Commenting on the publication of The National Fraud Authority's Annual Fraud Indicator, the Chief Executive of CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service, Peter Hurst said:

"Anything that helps bring an understanding to all parties of the impact of fraud on our economy has to be beneficial. It also represents a first step.  By attempting to quantify fraud losses, it provides a foundation for further work towards reducing them. The lower reported losses in the banking and related sectors are undoubtedly due to the sharing of fraud data which first began in 1988 when CIFAS was established. Members of CIFAS report nearly £1 billion in savings each year from sharing fraud information. Following the Serious Crime Act of 2007, there are no legal impediments preventing public sector organisations from participating in these data sharing arrangements and CIFAS would welcome them into membership. Discussions are already taking place with a number of public sector organisations and, by next year, we are hopeful that they too will be able to prevent more fraud by taking advantage of the benefits that data sharing can offer.

Insurance companies who have joined CIFAS are already accruing fraud savings, and we hope that the benefits they are obtaining will persuade the others to follow suit."  

CIFAS is the UK's Fraud Prevention Service, a not-for-profit Membership association that operates in the public interest.

Notes to Editors:

1 - CIFAS is the UK's Fraud Prevention Service with 260 Member organisations spread across banking, credit cards, asset finance, retail credit, mail order, insurance, investment management, telecommunications, factoring and share dealing.  Members share information on frauds in the fight to prevent further fraud.  CIFAS is unique and was the first data sharing scheme of its type in the world.

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