North initiative is model for anti-fraud campaign

Jul 15 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A NORTH East initiative launched to stamp out fraud has been chosen as the model for a national campaign to be presented to the Government later this year.

Representatives of the National Fraud Authority (NFA) met members of the North East Fraud Forum (NEFF) this week to discuss how the two can work more closely to beat the threat posed by fraud to UK businesses.

Issues discussed included plans to launch of a national fraud identification taskforce, increased support for victims of fraud, ways to tackle mortgage fraud and plans to roll out a high-profile publicity campaign.

NEFF was set up in 2003 by representatives of the public and private sectors to raise awareness among businesses of the latest scams and frauds and educate them on topics such as counterfeiting and money laundering.

By making the region’s business community more aware of the threat of fraud, the NEFF, backed by Northumbria, Cleveland and Durham police forces along with universities and businesses, believes the region is five years ahead of the rest of the country in terms of tackling fraudsters.

The North East, along with London and Manchester, was chosen to advise on the national framework because of its high standing among those involved in the prevention of fraud, with the NEFF supported by 200 businesses and acting as a model for nine other UK initiatives.

The meeting, attended by more than 100 NEFF members, included representatives from businesses and public sector bodies. The NFA, which was set up in November last year, is now looking to adopt a number strategies developed by the NEFF, such as the Hadrian Project, a partnership with Newcastle University to educate businesses about the threats of cyber crime and provide them with protective and preventative services.

Alan Brown, NEFF chairman, said: “We have been running longer than most fraud prevention initiatives, and as such we have a lot of insight into the issues affecting the victims of fraud in the North East.

“The NFA is now looking at ways to integrate our research into its own national framework, which will eventually be presented to the Government.

“The fact that the NFA has chosen to visit the North East, among only small handful of regions, speaks volumes about the work that we have carried out and we look forward to working alongside it to convert some of our ideas into real solutions.” The NFA is also looking to adopt the NEFF’s work with Microsoft to develop online software aimed at teaching young people about the risks of sharing information through social networking sites as well as its research into bio-metric password coding.

NFA chief executive officer Bernard Herdan said: “It is clear that, as we intend the National Fraud Authority to be truly national, we need to understand regional issues and work with local counter-fraud networks to tackle this serious crime.

“Through the summit in Newcastle, we learned of the great work and commitment to fight fraud already present in the North East and discussed some of the challenges and opportunities facing us all.

“We will continue to develop our relationships with organisations in the North East to make the region and the rest of England and Wales a more hostile environment for fraudsters.”