The Law Society was one of thirty seven organisations that came
together to launch 'Fighting Fraud Together' on 12 October 2011.
This is a new strategy which aims to reduce fraud - a crime that
affects everyone and is estimated to cost the UK 38bn every
year.
It is the first time that the government, industry
representatives, voluntary groups and law enforcement agencies have
joined together on such a large scale to sign a joint commitment to
tackle fraud.
All thirty seven partners who have signed up to 'Fighting Fraud Together' will contribute to and be accountable
for its success.
The strategy encompasses activities aimed at preventing fraud
being perpetrated in the first place, increasing awareness of the
risks of fraud and the level of fraud reporting and ensuring there
is a more effective enforcement response to reported fraud.
As a partner in this programme along with the SRA, the Law
Society is committed to expanding and extending the successful
activities that exist in the legal sector and sharing fraud
intelligence across boundaries to prevent and disrupt the
activities of fraudsters.
A key counter-fraud activity, led by the National Fraud
Authority, that is already demonstrating success is the creation of
a single reporting point of fraud for the UK. Action Fraud is the place
where scam emails and all types of fraud can be reported and will
be reviewed for intelligence purposes and allocated for
investigation. It is also a useful resource on new types of fraud
and provides support to victims.