The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) has prevented £25m of fraud and carried out 84 arrests and interviews under caution in the first half of 2018, figures published today reveal.

The DCPCU, a specialist police unit sponsored by the finance industry, achieved estimated savings of £25m from preventing and disrupting fraud in the first half of the year.

This brings the total savings from reduced fraud activity to over £540m since the unit was set up in 2002.

26 fraudsters were convicted between January and June 2018 in cases investigated by the DCPCU. This resulted in 33 years imprisonment for those given custodial sentences.

In this same period, the unit has disrupted seven organised crime groups and recovered 8,651 stolen card numbers. In addition, over £122,000 of compensation was returned to victims following the confiscation of criminal assets by the DCPCU.

Glyn Whittick, Temporary Detective Chief Inspector of the DCPCU, commented:

“The DCPCU continues to successfully target the criminal gangs responsible for fraud and bring them to justice.

“An estimated £25m of fraud has been prevented and 26 fraudsters have been convicted.

“This is a testament to the hard work of our officers and staff, who work closely with the banking industry to identify and prosecute fraudsters.

“Criminal gangs are increasingly sophisticated and taking advantage of new technologies to commit fraud online. But through close cooperation between law enforcement and the industry, we can stay one step ahead and ensure there is no place for fraudsters to hide.”

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, commented:

“The finance industry continues to take action on all fronts to protect customers from fraud and supporting the DCPCU provides us with another invaluable weapon in this fight.

“By working together across the industry, government and law enforcement agencies we can ensure fraudsters are caught and punished. The continued success of the DCPCU is a fantastic example of this kind of collaboration in action.”

Case studies

Case Study 1: Card not present fraud

The DCPCU successfully investigated an organised criminal group (OCG) involved with card-not-present (CNP) fraud. Compromised bank card data was used to complete online retail orders, with deliveries specified for a variety of addresses in the Grimsby area. Surendiran Ganesharjah purchased bank card data via the dark web and recruited a delivery driver called Michael Cummings to assist with the fraud. A proactive operation evidenced the fraud in action and resulted in guilty pleas entered by both parties. Ganesharjah received a 32-month custodial sentence and Cummings received an 18-month custodial sentence.

Case Study 2: Insider fraud

Abdul Khan and Mansoor Sanobar were employees at a high-street bank who committed over £221,000 of fraud. Between 3rd July 2013 – 27th October 2016, Khan authorised transfers totalling over £221,000 in accounts belonging to him and Sanobar. The funds were then spent away via cash withdrawals, large card purchases and transfers to other beneficiaries. This included the purchase of gold bars and expensive trips to Dubai. Both Khan and Sanobar pleaded guilty prior to trial for money laundering offences. Khan was sentenced to three years and two months in prison and Sanobar was sentenced to two years and 11 months.