Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Monday, 18 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 May 2009. It was answered by Alan Campbell (Labour) on Monday, 1 June 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Fraud: Credit Cards

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to reduce the level of credit card fraud in Coventry in the last 12 months.

Answer: The Government take all fraud seriously wherever it is perpetrated, which is why we have allocated £29 million in new funding over three years to implement the National Fraud Programme which includes establishing a National Fraud Authority; a National Fraud Reporting Centre and a National Lead Force for investigating serious and complex fraud. The National Fraud Authority which brings together Government, law enforcement and industry representatives, became operational in October last year and on 19 March published the first National Fraud Strategy which will benefit all areas of the country. The National Fraud Reporting Centre will equip law enforcement agencies with a powerful intelligence tool, enabling the police to collate information from fraud cases across the country, leading to better intelligence and hence better targeted operations, as well as better prevention advice for businesses and the public. In its rote as national lead force, City of London Police will tackle serious and complex fraud wherever it occurs and assist other police forces by offering training and best practice advice.On plastic card fraud specifically, we work closely with the card industry to encourage wider adoption by retailers and cardholders of new anti fraud initiatives and were, for example, pleased to support the industry's Be Card Smart public education campaign last Christmas.

Secondary information