Fraud

Fraud can take a variety of forms including phishing, boiler rooms, mortgage fraud, insurance fraud, carousel fraud, identity theft and advance fee fraud.

We give higher priority to the protection of consumers as potential victims of fraud than to the protection of firms themselves as potential victims.

Key issues relating to fraud

• data security[2]
• mortgage fraud[3]
• scams and swindles

For further detail and examples of good and poor practice in fraud prevention, see our Financial Crime Guide[4].

Partnership approach to fraud

Fraud is an area of regulation where we align our goals with those of regulated firms. We recognise that firms already have strong incentives to manage fraud risks — fraud costs them money and losses can affect firms' profitability. We promote a partnership approach to tackling fraud and aim to work with the market and to encourage collaboration.

Firms have historically been reluctant to reveal that they have been the victims of fraud, fearing reputational risk. We want to foster an environment where information sharing is not only encouraged, but actively seen by all as a means to reduce fraudulent practices and so increase profitability.

Members of the fraud partnership

The fraud partnership is made up of:

• the FCA – in our supervisory, enforcement, information from lenders and consumer work
• regulated firms
• trade associations – with an emphasis on collaboration across the industry for generic risks such as staff and identity fraud, and not just limited to specific sectors
• the police and other law enforcement agencies, such as the National Crime Agency (NCA)
• key service providers to the industry. This involves organisations that provide services to combat fraud, or are potential victims of fraud. For example, consultancy firms, credit reference agencies, fraud data-sharing specialists etc
• the Fraud Advisory Panel[5]
• consumers and the general public. This can involve perpetrators, victims or whistleblowers