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‘Stop! Think Fraud’ – perhaps the government should take its own advice

Feb 14, 2024 | Bylines, News

The government has gained another ‘X’ community note for its ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign – if only it had been more careful itself, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE for Yorkshire Bylines. 

The Home Office has launched a campaign with the slogan ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ aimed at helping the public “spot fraud” and protect themselves from its “devastating impacts”. According to the government website, the campaign is backed by “leading counter fraud experts uniting under one voice to provide consistent, clear and robust advice”.

The impact of fraud can be heartbreaking, they don’t just steal your money; they steal your sense of security.

Stop! Think Fraud, is our new campaign to help you spot fraud, protect yourself and seek help if you need it.

🔗 https://t.co/vLfMyZrCVy pic.twitter.com/BFarVtApMg

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) February 12, 2024

On the one hand, it’s comforting to hear that our government is prepared to listen to experts once more. But it rather raises the question, where were these experts when questions were being asked of government ministers regarding questionable PPE contracts?

 

The ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign

Of all recorded crimes committed in England and Wales, fraud accounts for 40% of the total, with an estimated 3.2 million offences each year, according to government statistics. The cost of that fraud is estimated at £6.8bn in England and Wales alone. While that’s not an insignificant figure, and deserves some government attention, it’s small fry compared to the £100bn hit to UK exports revealed in the latest analysis of Brexit damage. But don’t hold your breath waiting for a government campaign designed at fixing that problem.

The government anticipates that its anti-fraud campaign “will be seen by 95% of adults in the UK” over the coming weeks thanks to blanket coverage on radio, TV, social media and billboards. Home Secretary James Cleverly said the “bold” fraud strategy will continue to “deliver for the British people”. A bold, new strategy? Perhaps. A tired old idiom? Most definitely.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat added, “This new campaign will share the details we all need to defend ourselves and our friends”. Perhaps, in some future anti-crime campaign, he’ll be suggesting a similar approach to defending ourselves against muggers or burglars. Sounds, to me, rather like ‘you’re on your own!’

Oliver Dowden claims the Government is making "real progress" on tackling fraud. In fact it quadrupled under Rishi Sunak to £21 billion. #pmqs https://t.co/IN2rCfwD39

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 7, 2023

Fraud in the name of Covid

In Cleverly’s video, he claims fraud has been cut by 13% in England and Wales over the last year. Within 24 hours, that claim had already been challenged on social media as “misleading”, as the police had reported a 15% increase in fraud.  Not only that, but the rate of fraud has increased by 128% when compared with September 2013.

As for the government themselves, perhaps they could also focus on issues much closer to home, such as the long-running National Crime Agency investigation into allegations of fraud and bribery faced by Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her husband.

The prime minister himself has also been under scrutiny in regard to his actions during the pandemic. In June 2023, a report revealed that government losses to fraud had quadrupled, under the then chancellor Rishi Sunak, from £5.5bn to £21bn, according to the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

HM Revenue and Customs – the direct responsibility of Sunak – suffered enormously due to this rise in fraud, thanks to £97bn being spent on the pandemic furlough scheme, the bounce back loan scheme and the disastrous ‘Eat out to Help Out’ scheme. While some efforts have been made to recover the £4.9bn lost to fraud and error from the bounce back loan scheme alone, only limited amounts have been recovered to date. Judging by recent events, Sunak’s judgment has not improved with advancement. Neither has his knowledge of balancing the books, it would seem.

£21bn 💷🔥https://t.co/laMVp4Niw8

— Alex Richards (@AlxdrRchrds) February 12, 2024

Last year, a National Audit Office report revealed the staggering increase – almost fourfold – in public money being lost to fraud since the beginning of the pandemic – money that is unlikely to ever be fully recovered. Not only is that money long gone, but the government is keeping very quiet on the subject. While the wrongdoings of some government colleagues seemingly go unpunished, the general public are facing ever tougher sentences for much lesser crimes.

“Nobody is immune from fraud”, the government campaign tells us. Some in high places are, it would seem, a little more immune than others.

A reminder that if we were as tough on tax evasion/PPE Fraud as shoplifting.

Nadhim Zahawi would've received 80 years in jail, and Michelle Mone 6000 years.

— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) February 5, 2024

Stop! Think Fraud

In Cleverly’s promotional video he promises to “not let fraudsters in”, encourages us to “protect ourselves” and advises us to “take a minute to stop and think fraud”. Sound advice! Let’s make sure to repeat it often in the run-up to the election.

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    BremainInSpain @bremaininspain.com 12 hours

    Unsure of the data, but if it pans out, this should be a good comms point for Labour, which they seem to be struggling with.

    Torsten Bell

    This is staggering.

    Real wages have grown more in the first 10 months of this Labour government than during the first ten years of Tory governments since 2010.

    And not one apology from Conservative MPs for the mess they left us in today - shameful.

  • Get to this post

    BremainInSpain @bremaininspain.com 14 hours

    Nigel Farage clearly cares so passionately about this issue he’s decided he can’t get up from his sunbed to represent his constituents or his party."
    leftfootforward.org/2025/05/nige...

    Nigel Farage misses key Brexit debate to go on European holiday

    "Nigel Farage clearly cares so passionately about this issue he’s decided he can’t get up from his sunbed to represent his constituents or his party."

    leftfootforward.org

  • Get to this post

    BremainInSpain @bremaininspain.com 14 hours

    Alex Gallagher

    Apparently Farage is "on holiday".

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