National Lead Force
We are the national lead police force for fraud. We investigate some of the country’s most complex cases of fraud, set the national strategy and co-ordinate the operational response. We also host Report Fraud, the national reporting centre for cyber crime and fraud, on behalf of policing.
With 50 per cent of all crime recorded in the UK being fraud related, the National Lead Force (NLF), as part of the City of London Police, serves a crucial role in the co-ordination of the policing response: identifying, disrupting and prosecuting fraud and economic crime across the country.
National Policing Strategy for Fraud, Economic and Cyber Crime 2023 – 2028
The National Policing Strategy for Fraud, Economic and Cyber Crime 2023 – 2028 has been produced to help guide and support local, regional and national policing in delivering a range of requirements set out in various Home Office national strategies, programmes and plans. Most importantly, it will help policing provide a much better service to victims, and goes some way in consolidating policing priorities into a single, user friendly, interactive digital document to help and enable clear delivery. You can download the strategy below.
National Policing Strategy for Fraud, Economic and Cyber Crime 2023 – 2028
Combatting economic crime through partnerships
Cyber crime and fraud counts for more than 50 per cent of the crimes recorded in the UK. A partnership approach has been developed to combat this probem, with policing, industry, government, regulators, other law enforcement agencies and overseas organisations, working together to tackle economic crime.
In 2016, these entities were brought together under the umbrella of support provided by the City of London Police as the National Lead Force. As part of this role, we have put a number of innovative partnerships in place to police particular economic crimes or assist an organisation in meeting specific goals in the counter-fraud sphere:
- The Lead Force Operations Room (LFOR) was launched in late 2020 to enable greater co-ordination and support to the policing response to fraud. Their focus is in particular high harm fraud types (romance, courier, investment and payment diversion frauds), serious and complex fraud disseminations to local police forces and delivery of national campaigns.
- Fraud Operations carry out the most serious and complex fraud investigations reported in England and Wales. Their focus is to gather evidence that will successfully prosecute Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) and lone fraudsters. They also work in partnership with other agencies to disrupt fraudulent activity. The Fraud Operations team lead a multi-agency partnership with National Trading Standards, Financial Conduct Authority, HM Revenue and Customs and the Insolvency Service to disrupt fraudulent investment companies that set up business addresses within the City of London.
- The NLF Victim Contact Unit acts as a conduit between the National Lead Force Fraud Operations Investigations and their victims of fraud. They also manage some external forces' fraud investigations victims ensuring that they comply with the Victims Code Of Practice while making sure the victims are appropriately safeguarded. They also prevent revictimisation as part of their outreach work. The VCU are partnered with TrueCall Ltd in distributing call blocking devices, putting a stop to scam phone calls reaching the victims.
- The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) is an innovative policing unit entirely funded by the insurance industry to combat insurance fraud. IFED tackles various types of insurance fraud, from cross border OCGs using professional enablers to opportunistic insurance fraudsters. The majority of IFED’s cases focus on motor insurance fraud, but the unit deals with the wide spectrum of insurance fraud, including life, travel, property, household, medical, and professional enablers operating in these areas. The operationally independent unit was established in 2012, with funding from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
- The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is a specialist team dedicated to investigating, disrupting and preventing intellectual property crime, which causes significant harm to the UK economy or the general public in terms of counterfeit physical goods and digital piracy. The operationally independent unit was established in 2013 with funding from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
- The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) is a joint Metropolitan Police Service/City of London Police team, funded by the banking industry, with the sole purpose of combating crimes associated with banking and payments. DCPCU’s objectives are to proactively pursue fraudsters who cause the most economic harm, to disrupt OCGs, opportunistic fraudsters and online threats, and to use the media to help partners develop their counter-fraud capabilities.
- As part of our remit as the national lead force, we engage with police forces across the country to share best practice in fraud investigation and host the Economic and Cyber Crime Academy (ECCA), which provides training in counter-fraud and other economic crime techniques to both private and public sector organisations.
Report Fraud
Report Fraud is the place to tell the police about cyber crime and fraud. Members of the public, charities and businesses can report online or by phoning the Report Fraud Contact Centre.
Report Fraud is the national reporting service for cyber crime and fraud and managed by the City of London Police on behalf of all policing.
Thousands of allegations of cyber crime and fraud are reported through the Report Fraud system every month. All reports are assessed by the Report Fraud Analysis Service, who are responsible for analysing fraud reports for investigative and disruption opportunities, and then ensuring reports reach the right place.
Reports that include identified enablers, such as websites, emails and telephone numbers, used to commit the fraud, can be traced and shut down to prevent further fraud. The Report Fraud Prevention and Disruption Teams are responsible for identifying enablers used to commit crime and take them down, disrupting the fraud happening in its tracks.
The Report Fraud Victim Service also offers dedicated, and specialist help to victims of cyber crime and fraud. Team members receive specialist training to help the most vulnerable and manage different levels of victim care where appropriate.
All reports undergo a vulnerability assessment where they are reviewed against numerous criteria to help identify and prioritise victims who require victim care or appropriate safeguarding measures. Everyone who makes a report receives bespoke and tailored advice to help prevent repeat victimisation.
As part of the national lead force role, the City of London Police co-ordinates the national Protect network through Report Fraud. The Report Fraud Protect Team co-ordinates the national law enforcement protect response to cyber crime and fraud. Using an intelligence-led approach, the team is responsible for delivering targeted national campaigns, timely alerts and proactive stakeholder and partner engagement.
Cybercrime protection
Alongside our fraud work, we also have responsibilities in the cybercrime environment, working with the NCA and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), to provide protection advice to businesses and individuals. We work with partners to ensure businesses and individuals across the UK, and locally in the City, have the tools and skills necessary to protect themselves from cybercrime in all its forms.
Report Fraud has a dedicated 24/7 service for reporting live cyber incidents offered to businesses, charities and organisations who could be under a cyber attack.
Operations
Operation Henhouse was a month-long intensification period, tackling fraud which took place in early 2023. LFOR led on the coordination of local, regional and national policing units.
Across the UK, Operation Henhouse saw 290 arrests made across different types of fraud offences, which included romance fraud, banking and insurance fraud, as well as money laundering and perverting the course of justice. The successful operation also saw in excess of £6.2m in assets seized, which included high-value jewellery and watches, cryptocurrency, cash, gold and luxury sports cars.
Police forces across the country have been cracking down on criminals who commit courier fraud, with a combination of awareness raising and enforcement activity co-ordinated by the City of London Police to disrupt courier fraud and safeguard victims.
Police forces across the country have been working together to tackle romance fraud, through a combination of awareness raising and enforcement activity, co-ordinated by the City of London Police.
Investment fraud
Co-ordinated by the City of London Police, investment fraud has been an area that has yielded notable custodial sentences in recent months.
This has ranged from an individual who received a nine-year sentence for defrauding victims with a fake fixed-odds betting site, an ex-footballer who scammed friends and family for more than £15m and for a gang that scammed more than 340 victims out of £5.4m in bogus gold mine investments.
View our fraud investigation policy below: