A better deal for fraud victims:research into victims’ needs and experiences

In recent years the needs of crime victims have become much more recognised in the responses of the justice system and other agencies. There have been campaigns to improve the situation of victims of domestic violence, sexual assaults, gun and knife crimes. However, few campaigns have focussed on fraud victims, resulting in fraud being described as a ‘silent crime’, with victims receiving little support or restitution. Research carried out by the authors of this report has started to fill this gap. Their reviews of the research literature and the fraud support infrastructure (Button et al., 2009a, 2009b) illustrated: the diversity of frauds that affect individuals and small businesses in England and Wales; the perpetrators of fraud; and the techniques employed. It identified victim typologies; discovered what victims want in response to frauds; assessed information and support currently available to victims. This report adds to a growing body of research by presenting new findings from surveys conducted in Summer 2009 on the largest group of fraud victims in the UK to date. Using face-to-face interviews, focus groups and telephone interviews about 800 victims have provided information on their experiences and their attitudes to the support available. The findings reveal that, similar to more visible crimes, victims of fraud are a diverse group, ranging from the young, educated and professional through to the elderly and more vulnerable. The impact of a fraud is often individualised, depending on specific factors relating to the victim. The same fraud can affect multiple victims very differently. This has implications for the level of information, support and services required, with some requiring greater support than others.