MORE than £167,000 of fraud has been stopped in the region thanks to a new financial crime reporting system.
The Banking Protocol – now in its fourth month in Warwickshire and West Mercia – gives bank branch staff a fast route to alert police and Trading Standards to suspected frauds taking place.
Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police joined the initiative in September this year, and by the end of November had helped stop £167,560 of fraud.
In West Mercia, the protocol has also helped protect vulnerable people from future fraud, and nationally the scheme has led to 101 arrests being made across the UK, with police responding to a total of 1,262 Banking Protocol calls.
The Banking Protocol was developed as a partnership between the finance industry, police and Trading Standards.
