Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, is backing the Conservative Government’s new long-term ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign, delivering tough new anti-fraud messaging, raising public awareness on fraud safety advice in partnership with law enforcement, tech, banking, telecoms and third sector organisations.
This new campaign builds on the Conservative Government’s long-term Fraud Strategy set out by the Home Office in May 2023, committing to 52 ambitious actions to cut fraud by ten per cent by the end of this Parliament.
Official data shows that the number of fraud and computer misuse incidents across Thames Valley Police's area had fallen from 14,526 incidents to 12,869 incidents in the last year, a drop of 11.4 per cent, showing the Conservative Government’s long-term plan to stop fraud is working.
Since 2019, the Conservative Government has implemented a whole range of long-term reforms to tackle fraud by creating new national fraud squad with over 400 new investigators, banning SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands of scam texts and stopping cold calls for financial products so people cannot be duped by scammers.
The Conservative Government has also signed the world’s first Online Fraud Charter, delivering tough long-term action against fraud in partnership with 12 leading tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google and X (formerly Twitter).
Ben Everitt MP said: “Fraud has such a devastating impact on people's lives here in Milton Keynes and across the country and so it's really encouraging to see that the Conservative Government’s crackdown on fraud has cut fraud referrals by 11.4% across the Thames Valley Police force area.
“The Conservative Government’s new ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign will build on this excellent progress, raising public awareness on fraud safety and building on the Conservative long-term Fraud Strategy announced last year.
“This news shows the Conservative Government’s long-term plan to tackle fraud is working while Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party would just take us back to square one.”
James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, commented: “Our bold Fraud Strategy is continuing to deliver for the British people.
“This new campaign is a powerful tool to add to our arsenal, which already includes a world-first agreement from tech firms to prevent online fraud and the rollout of a National Fraud Squad that has 400 expert investigators.
“I encourage everyone to stop, take a moment to think about fraud, and share this messaging far and wide.”
Tom Tugendhat, the Security Minister, said: “Fraud ruins lives. Following this advice will give people the best tips to stop fraudsters from stealing their hard-earned cash, and point them towards all the help and information on offer.
“Our Fraud Strategy is successfully turning the tide against fraudsters. This new campaign will share the details we all need to defend ourselves and our friends.”
