Additional Considerations for Partnership Working Fraud Fraud is a global issue and can affect anyone. It is a threat to every resident through the internet and social media, by telephone or text messages or by post too. In South Staffordshire some of our older adults and those who are less skilled with technology are particularly vulnerable to fraud and doorstep crime but young people are being targeted too through social media for investment scams – usually relating to Cryptocurrencies. In Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, figures show that year-on-year around 70% of personal fraud has an online element. Fraud scams using internet banking and remote computer access, mean that criminals can defraud individuals and businesses of large sums of money very rapidly and from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Consumer Fraud (including online shopping/auctions and dating/romance scams) is the most prevalent, accounting for 39% of all fraud offences with average losses of around £1,620 per incident. Fraud and scams are looking more authentic with scams including the NHS, Visa approval and post office payments being some of the more difficult to recognise. Campaigns to raise awareness and offer hints and tips about possible scams will be a regular feature in the South Staffordshire Review Magazine, the Community Safety Newsletter and on the Council’s website and social media platforms. Rural Crime Although crime rates tend to be lower in rural areas overall, rural communities are affected by the same types of crime as urban areas and the demography and characteristics of those within these communities can be very different, with differing expectations, resilience, community assets, strengths, and needs. In more affluent and dispersed rural areas, particularly to the south of the force-area, challenges persist around car-key burglaries and vehicle thefts – with some areas being targeted by criminals in order to steal high value and high-performance vehicles. Isolated rural areas with low housing density/building density and farming / agricultural premises are at particular risk.
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