TheSerious Organised Crime Agency(Soca)
is using data mining technology to identify the social networks and
"trade routes" used by fraudsters who are costing the UK an
estimated £3.5bn a year.
This emerged from a
Soca briefing today on a "day of action" that saw police in the
UK, US, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and Nigeria swoop on
suspected fraudster gangs.
Most of the suspects are using internet e-mail and telephone to
"mass market" scams to targeted vulnerable people. Most scams known
as advance fee frauds, worth an estimated £340m a year in the UK,
are distributed using e-mail spam.
This is where a fraudster asks the victim for a processing,
handling or finders' fee before delivering a large sum of fake
money as a lottery prize, bequest, commission fee, etc.
Paul Evans, executive director of
Soca and head of investigations, said the agency was working
with industry to alert banks and others to 419 and other scams.
Asked what response he had had from the IT industry, he said
much of the spam was mixed up with legitimate e-mail. "We do not
want to interfere with that," he said.
Colin Woodcock, senior manager for Soca's 40-strong fraud crime
techniques unit, said data mining was very big in
Soca. It found the technology very useful in identifying links
between suspects.
Evans added it helped to identify bottlenecks in the fraudsters'
trade routes. By attacking these, police could reduce fraudsters'
activity quickly.
He said fraud was a low risk, high return business that has
attracted organised criminals looking for "seed capital" to fund
illegal drug dealing, people smuggling and other criminal acts.
Organised crime costs the UK £35-40bn a year, he said. This was
the first time organised crime officers had got involved in fraud
investigations. Soca's main aim was to raise the risk and cost of
fraud to protect the public and also cut off funds for more serious
crime.
Evans, a 30 year veteran of drugs and tax crimes, said he had
been surprised by the extent of fraud in the UK revealed by the
Office of Fair Trading research. Last year the OFT asked 11,500
people about their experience with frauds. Following in-depth
interviews with victims, the OFT estimated 3.2 million adults, 6.5%
of the UK's adult population, lost £3.5bn in scams.
Mike Haley of the OFT's Scambusters team, said 419 scams were
worth around £340m. "That makes it a priority for the OFT," he
said.
Evans said fraudsters were using advanced behavioural marketing
techniques and "incredible persistence" to con people, including
violence.