More than £1million worth of fraud — often targeting vulnerable and elderly customers — has been prevented through the Banking Protocol, a UK-wide scheme that enables bank branch staff to spot potential fraud victims and request an immediate police response.
The latest figures from UK Finance reveal that 430 calls have been made through the rapid response scheme to Nottinghamshire Police since its launch in the county in May 2017, with an average of £2700 of fraud being prevented per call. The initiative has led to the arrest of 22 suspected fraudsters in Nottinghamshire.
The Banking Protocol was introduced to crack down on scams in which customers are tricked into visiting their bank in person to withdraw money and hand it over to a criminal.
Under the initiative, developed in partnership between UK Finance, local police forces and National Trading Standards, bank branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to such a scam.
The staff member can then invoke the Banking Protocol, leading the local police to send a priority response to the branch to investigate the suspected fraud and arrest any suspects still on the scene.
Since March 2018, the scheme has been implemented by all 45 police forces across the UK. 52 payment service providers, including all the main high street banks and the Post Office, are now fully signed up to the Banking Protocol and have trained their front-line branch staff in the steps that need to be taken when a customer is at risk
Detective Inspector Yvonne Dales, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our Ecconomic and Cyber Crime Unit works incredibly hard to help identify those responsible for exploiting people in our county.
“To prevent more than £1million pounds from entering the hands of criminals is excellent and we will continue to work closely with Banking Protocol to help protect people from further scams.
“Fraudsters can be incredibly deceptive and I am keen to stress that anyone can be a victim of fraud.
“If you are a victim of fraud, you must report it to Action Fraud as soon as possible. However, if you believe a fraudster is at your home or business, call 999.”
