UK to launch new fraud intelligence unit

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LONDON – A dedicated fraud intelligence division has been launched in the UK by the Home Office, payments association Apacs and the banking industry to more efficiently combat retail banking fraud. Police said the division would be operational immediately.

The new Payment Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit (PIPJIU) will form a new division of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU), merging the banking industry's current liaison unit – the Fraud Intelligence Bureau (FIB) – and the intelligence section of the DCPCU.

Police say banks’ annual investment in the new intelligence unit, the DCPCU and the introduction by Apacs of a new fraud intelligence sharing system (FISS) has reached £5 million per year.

DCI John Folan, head of DCPCU, says: “With this increased funding and a wider remit, our primary objective is to build on the already successful work undertaken by the banking industry and the DCPCU in combating fraud.”