FRAUD cases in Jersey have almost doubled over the last three years, with victims losing thousands of pounds.
A total of 158 offences were recorded by the States police last year compared to 86 in 2018, according to figures released by the force.
Separately, a report by UK-based money.co.uk has revealed that Islanders lost the second-highest amount of money in the British Isles to fraudsters, with each victim being conned out of an average of £15,882 in 2021.
The site analysed 49 policing areas and found that only Guernsey had a higher average amount lost – £17,647 – per recorded incident, while the average loss per victim across all police areas was £5,389.
Chief Insp Chris Beechey, chairman of the Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum, said: ‘Living in Jersey we can too easily be overly trusting, believing that the Island is a safe place and that we’re protected from fraudsters.
‘As a forum, we work with the community to raise awareness of frauds and scams. However, unfortunately sometimes Islanders do fall victim.’
He said the forum wanted to take the opportunity ‘to remind Islanders that if they get a call, text, email or social media message asking them to disclose their personal or financial information, that they should always double-check that the request is genuine’.
He added: ‘We have resources on our website that can show you how to do this.
‘We encourage Islanders to speak to the police or one of our forum members if they have any concerns.’
Last year, Chief Insp Beechey said pandemic restrictions had led to a boom in fraud cases as people became more vulnerable to scammers. At the time, he said the second lockdown had ‘limited our social interactions, which has again led to changes in the types of frauds and scams being reported to us. Being cut off and isolated from our usual social networks can make us more vulnerable to fraudsters’.
Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida said that ‘fraud and cybercrime are always taken seriously’ as he urged any Islanders who think they have been the victim of fraud or a cybercrime to report it to police.
‘Any occurrence that people report can get help trace back to the original source,’ he said.
Chief Insp Beechey said the JFPF’s first newsletter for 2022 would be circulated in April, which would highlight frauds and scams currently targeting the Island, ‘and will offer resources to Islanders to help keep them vigilant against fraudsters’.
Any Islanders who think they might have been targeted by a scam or fallen victim to any type of fraud can contact the States of Jersey Police on 01534 612612, or email scams500@police.je.
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The JFPF was set up in 2016 by a group of local organisations to provide alerts and advice for Islanders on how to guard against fraudsters and scammers, with partner agencies including the States police, Jersey Financial Services Commission and Jersey Consumer Council.
