THE ANATOMY OF ONLINE FRAUD PERSPECTIVES ON POLICING

By Michael Skidmore 

In 2022-23 there were an estimated 3.5 million fraud offences in England and Wales, with members of the public now more likely to fall victim to fraud than any other type of crime (ONS, 2023a). And accordingly, the police are seeing an overwhelming rise in reported fraud, with levels of recorded crime exceeding one million offences, reflecting not only fraud against the public but also the considerable impact on businesses (ONS, 2023a). These patterns are largely the consequence of living in an increasingly digitised society in which the opportunities to perpetrate fraud have proliferated. All this crime is reduced into one single offence category of ‘fraud’, which covers both a large volume and a wide variety of offenders, offending, victims, harm, and vulnerability. This paper focuses specifically on ‘online fraud’, forming part of a wider programme of work looking at fraud that is enabled by the internet and digital technology. The paper reviews the literature with the aim of unpacking the nature and particular characteristics of online fraud. It also examines how data and knowledge about fraud inform and direct the strategic and operational responses of the police and other organisations. The complexities of producing a ‘true’ picture of fraud are explored, including a discussion of the meaning and significance of fraud when it is ‘online’. It highlights the gaps and challenges in our current understanding of online fraud that will be addressed in our ongoing research programme  

Paper 10. 

London: The Police Foundation April 2024  16p.