What is Economic Crime?

Economic crime refers to a broad category of activity involving money, finance or assets, the purpose of which is to unlawfully obtain a profit or advantage for the perpetrator or cause loss to others. Fraud is when trickery is used to gain a dishonest advantage, which is often financial, over another person.

Fraud is the most experienced crime in the UK. The impact of fraud can be devastating for individuals and organisations. Victims of fraud range across vulnerable individuals, major corporations, smaller businesses, as well as the public sector. The highest harm threats are romance fraud, money mules and bribery and corruption.

Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations, and the police. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment.

Economic Crime Attack Methods

Romance Fraud

Victims will think that they have met the perfect partner online but a criminal is using a fake profile to form a relationship with them. The criminals gain your trust over time and you believe you are in a loving relationship. The criminals end goal is only ever to get your money or personal information.

Bribery and Corruption

Bribery refers to the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the decision or behaviour of an individual in a position of trust, such as a government official, either directly or indirectly. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private benefits that usually breaches laws, regulations, standards of integrity or standards of professional behaviour.

Courier Fraud

Courier Fraud occurs when a criminal contacts you purporting to be a police officer or bank official. They will tell you that they have spotted some fraudulent activity on your bank account. They may be able to confirm some easily obtainable basic details about you such as your full name and address to appear more authentic. The criminal will convince you to withdraw money and hand it over to a courier sent to your home. You may also be persuaded to hand over your bank cards, PIN numbers or high value items.

Money Mules

Money Mules is when you let someone else use your bank account to send criminal money. Fraudsters and other criminals will use lots of mule accounts to make it harder for banks and police to track them down.

Money Laundering

Money laundering is an illegal process where criminals attempt to conceal the origin of money obtained from illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, corruption, or embezzlement, by making it appear to come from a legitimate source.

Investment Fraud

Criminals will often contact victims out of the blue and tell them about an investment opportunity that can’t be missed. Typically, they may encourage you to invest in shares in a company you’ve never heard of, or markets such as gold, property or cryptocurrency. You’ll be promised “guaranteed” exceptional returns. You’ll be pressurised into making a quick decision, but once you hand over the money, you’ll usually never hear from the person who sold you the supposed investment again. If you do, they’ll typically ask you to invest more money.

If you think you’ve been the victim of Economic Crime or have noticed suspicious activity, report it

Protect yourself online

Always question unsolicited calls, texts or emails requesting your personal or financial information (name, address, bank details, email or phone number). Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.

Be suspicious of cold callers, emails and letters offering deals out of the blue.

Listen to your instincts and be wary of unsolicited calls, emails or online ads offering deals that sound too good to be true. Genuine banks, or other trusted organisations, won’t pressure you into making a financial transaction, if something feels wrong then it’s usually right to question it.

Check account transactions and balances frequently to spot suspicious charges

We recommend checking your report like you would your bank statement – it’s often the first sign that you’ve been a victim of identity theft. It’s also an opportunity for you to correct anything that doesn’t look right.

Use up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall on your computer

Always install the latest software and app updates on all of your devices. Protect your email account with a strong, separate password and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) where possible. Installing, or enabling, antivirus software on your laptops and computers will protect them from viruses and hackers.

Create strong passwords to protect your online accounts

Make your passwords unique for each account and save them on your browser or a password manager app so you don’t forget them.

Use three random words to create each password. For example, bemused-purple-muffins. You can still add in numbers and symbols if needed. For example, 3bemusedpurple!muffins

Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text

Many frauds start with a phishing emails or texts. Remember that banks and financial institutions will not send you an email asking you to click on a link and confirm your bank details. Do not trust such emails, even if they look genuine. You can always call your bank using the phone number on a genuine piece of correspondence, website (typed directly into the address bar) or the phone book to check if you’re not sure.