Summer 2026 ~ Fraud: lack of action erodes public trust.
A new report this week calls for more resources to be made available and to improve data-sharing in order to target a crime which “offenders currently commit with near-impunity.”
Sarah Gibbons is a highly experienced international journalist who concentrates on policing matters. For the past five years, she has been Deputy Editor of the influential Police Insight, and this week she entreats the UK Government to start acting decisively on fraud. In an article which screams common sense, she warns that fraud, the most common crime in the country, will become endemic. And that will “erode public trust and compromise the rule of law.”
However, we are asking, ‘Has that public trust already been lost?’ We seem to be living in a system where the fabric of society in this country appears to be failing. Getting anyone to provide a service and actually do what they are paid to do, [whether that’s a big company or more likely some government department], becomes too challenging for a mere mortal. When the public response turns into ridicule, particularly with officialdom, then the solution seems to be “change the name” or “change the person at the top”. The new entity blames the previous set up and calls for time to put it right. But is it ever put right?
And that seems to have happened with Action Fraud. Changing the name to Report Fraud has altered nothing. In fact, it boasts that the National Crime Analysis Service (N-CAS) backend processes intelligence faster for law enforcement. What that probably means is that it is AI as opposed to a human which now fobs off the victim.
At IPFGB, one of our team is a former cop who is now a highly qualified and practicing cybercrime lawyer acting exclusively for one of our clients. Having that police background naturally helps him know what law enforcement would need were they ever to take on an investigation. So, when he recently helped out a fraud victim by entering all the relevant information into Report Fraud, flagging up the elements to prove criminal activity, then including with it the name, identifying particulars, and current address of the fraudster, it was with resigned disappointment that the bot responded to the effect that there was insufficient data to progress. Will he or the victim ever again bother to waste time on Report Fraud? That is erosion of trust.
Earlier this summer, on behalf of another victim, IPFGB took on the investigation of a rogue trader. The victim, a professional person, had clearly been defrauded of several thousand pounds. She had gone through the Report Fraud system and had received the customary rejection. We conducted a thorough desktop investigation which provided ample evidence of identical cases, and showing that a dissolved company was still “live”. Through a long-term contact in law enforcement, we succeeded in hurdling the main obstacle . . . landing the detailed report on the appropriate desk. We know it was received; we responded to some questions, [the answers to which were already in the report or available on the web]. This was the sort of case that a keen law enforcement officer [in our day] would jump at . . . a list of willing victims and a perpetrator bang to rights! Here we are, approaching the end of summer, and the original victim telling us that she has not even had a phone call, let alone made a statement.
Sarah Gibbons could well be too late . . . public trust is past the erosion stage!
Dick Smith QPM August 2026
Spring 2026 ~ IPFGB Dick Smith receives the lifetime achievement award.
“Genuinely touched, is how I could best describe my feelings,” said Dick Smith on receiving the Peter Heims Lifetime Achievement Award at the ABI Awards Banquet in Newmarket last week. “I truly didn’t see it coming! And that surprise made the moment even more special. Having it presented by our President—and my good friend—Mike Lacorte meant a great deal to me.
Being honoured not only with this award, but also with Life Membership, is something I will always treasure. I’m deeply grateful for the confidence, support, and kindness shown to me. This recognition means far more than I can properly express.”
Dick send his sincere thanks to the ABI for this privilege and for the continued encouragement he’s been fortunate to receive from so many within the association.
March 2026 ~ IPFGB is “Code Ready” for UK GDPR Code of Conduct
IPFGB takes Data Protection seriously. As such, since 2018, each case instructed to IPFGB is subjected to a Data Protection Impact Assessment; not least a KYC test. In most instances, personal data will naturally be controlled and/or processed without the express consent of the data subject, and it is not unknown for an instruction to fail these tests, and the assignment declined.
In conjunction with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Association of British Investigators’ UK GDPR Code of Conduct for Investigative and Litigation Support was launched in November 2024, since when we have awaited the ICO’s authorisation of the monitoring body. We understand that that SSAIB has now been appointed, and as IPFGB successfully completed a guineapig examination by SSAIB as long ago as January 2025, we anticipate we will be one of the first companies to be officially accredited.
That process demands a regular update of training and, to that end, IPFGB has this month attended and successfully passed the assessment for the ABI UK GDPR good practice workshop and assessment for investigative and litigation support service providers hosted by the ABI. That training covered the topics:
Roles and responsibilities,
Lawful bases,
The data protection principles,
Data protection impact assessment,
Legitimate interests,
Processing for domestic & household purposes,
Invisible processing,
Consent to share in locate cases.
Unsurprisingly, news of the imminent introduction of the code has been welcomed by The Law Society, it is hoped that the legal profession in England and Wales as a whole will warmly embrace this Code of Conduct, demonstrating a preference for investigators who have proved that they understand and adhere to DP legislation; thereby assuring their clients that every step has been taken to ensure contractors operating on their behalf are doing so within legal margins.
Winter 2026 ~ Abandon the ‘Dead Horse Syndrome’
In favour of collaboration between professionals and law enforcement
Well done, the Met! That sort of teamwork is so encouraging, I have just read on LinkedIn this morning a posting by a police sergeant, drawing attention to the cooperation last night between a private security firm [MyLocalBobby] and the Met’s West End Town Centre Team. The exercise, described as a ‘partnership’, led to the arrests of mobile phone thieves.
So, what’s the Dead Horse Syndrome, and what does it have to do with cooperation?
The saga of the dead horse, found at the beginning of a night shift on the boundary between two police districts, goes back to Victorian times. As each beat man arrives at the scene throughout the night, he struggles to push the expired beast firmly off his patch; only for his opposite number from the neighbouring district to reverse the process an hour later. And so it goes on throughout the night as they complete their patrols; all to save having to fill out a report. In the morning, the local knackers yard turns up and carts off the animal’s remains, the police having succeeded in doing nothing.
A similar myth from a bygone era, and local to this area, recounts that a human corpse floating in the River Avon was consistently barge-poled to the opposite bank . . . neither Bristol nor Somerset cops choosing to do their duty.
Sadly, we can compare this fictional activity to the modern way UK police forces actually approach fraud. Rarely are the fraudster and his many victims in the same force area, so in order to avoid taking on the cost of preparing the prosecution, each force to whom the reports are made will strenuously push the “dead horse” back over the boundary line, the corpse eventually falling into a pothole, [to provide a contemporary analogy]. .
So often, IPFGB has provided police with results of a full and successful investigation, comprising a detailed covering report which explains the crime and methods of approach, together with robust s9 witness statements, and properly recorded exhibits; all proving the criminality of those responsible. Reports to the police now have the reputation of being routinely met with ambivalence; so often victims, be they commercial companies or individuals, choosing to turn to professional investigators who have the credibility and skill to consider the evidence and viability to progress.
Probe, Prove, and Pursue
Commercial companies falling victim of fraud have learned that reporting oft-substantial crimes to the police is counter-productive; the cost-effective route being to engage professional investigators from the outset, to probe, prove, and pursue through the civil process.
In a utopian world, it would be simpler for forces to expend less time and energy dodging fraud cases, and consider engaging with professionals who can provide the evidence they need. And, of course, just as in this enthusiastic and welcome street offence collaboration in Leicester Square last night, the victims would benefit. Now, there’s a novel thought!
Dick Smith QPM Februrary 2026
IPFGB
[Edited version published on ABI website 08-Feb-26