Stephen Morgan MP has said he will continue to help Portsmouth people avoid becoming victims of the UK’s most commonly experienced crime.
Mr. Morgan made the comments at his most recent Cuppa and Chat event, where constituents could receive expert advice on scams and consumer fraud.
The coffee morning attended by Portsmouth residents and hosted by the Portsmouth South MP offered the opportunity to seek professional advice and information from Sarah Atkinson, a scams expert from Citizens Advice Solent East.
Currently, fraud is the UK’s most commonly experienced crime, accounting for over 40% of reported incidents and affecting over 90% of online UK adults who have encountered suspected scams.
At the event, Mr Morgan said it is more important now than ever that adults are appropriately aware of and prepared to handle this form of crime which is growing increasingly sophisticated.
Commenting on the event, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“I am grateful that I was able to host this event for Portsmouth residents, providing expert advice so they can be better informed on how to recognise and handle any attempts to scam or defraud them in future.
“I have heard unfortunate stories of local people who have been targeted by scam artists intent on stealing their money or personal information.
“One instance of this is already too many, but by being aware we can prevent other residents becoming victims going forward.
“I will be taking the concerns and stories discussed at the event back to Parliament, along with continuing to support strong actions from the Government to protect people against these issues.”
Mr Morgan has given his strong support to the Labour Government’s commitment to delivering the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation.
The Government has been directly working closely with law enforcement, regulators, financial services firms, and technology companies to tackle scams.
In the last year, the Government stopped over £480 million ending up in the pockets of fraudsters, more money than ever before.
Alongside this, the Online Safety Act has also implemented several significant measures that will address fraudulent online advertising.
Additionally, the Government has announced that a new expanded fraud strategy will be published later in the year, with a key focus being the combatting of tech enables fraud, including emerging tech such as AI.
Constituents should report scams to Action Fraud and to Trading Standards (via the Citizens Advice online portal).
