Online fraud is the most prevalent crime in England and Wales, according to the Public Accounts Committee report. It’s also costing the public sector £37.5 billion per year.

In Gloucestershire, the total amount spent by the authority on the investigation of prosecution of fraud is £65,275. There are also 1,425 employees undertaking investigations and prosecutions of fraud. These statistics were released by the Gloucestershire County Council Internal Audit Activity report.

 There are all different types of online fraud too, and these include holiday fraud, identity fraud, account takeover, and bank card fraud.

 According to the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, fraud is affecting one in four small businesses each year. Along with SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) losing around £18.9 billion last year.

 In May, there was 364 cases of online fraud in Gloucestershire over a five-month period.

 Cyber Aware, Get Safe Online and Gloucestershire Safer Cyber Forum are working to ensure people are safe online.

 For more information, and if you have been personally affected by fraud you can easily report it online at: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/do-it-online/report-a-scam-or-fraud/