Organisations from across Dudley borough have pledged to work together to end financial crime.

With this type of crime becoming an increasing problem for many organisations, Dudley Council has launched the Dudley Financial Abuse Alliance.

A number of organisations have already joined the alliance from a variety of sectors including local financial institutions, organisations providing care to the elderly and vulnerable residents and voluntary organisations.Together their objective is clear, to put a stop to this kind of activity in Dudley borough by sharing knowledge and expertise and identifying ways to prevent and block future scams.

The ground-breaking alliance encourages members to share experiences under the guidance of Dudley Council`s scams unit, which since it launched more than one year ago has already helped prevent an estimated £4.5million being lost to scams.

Members will receive regular updates and advice, and have immediate access to specialist officers in the council if they suspect someone is a victim of fraud and/or scams. Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said:

"National statistics tell us that people in Dudley borough potentially lose millions of pounds in financial scams every year. It’s often our most vulnerable people who are targeted and we know scams can have a long-term impact on a victim’s health and wellbeing.

"Increasingly we are seeing financial criminals use every trick in the book to try and stay ahead of the game and con people out of their money, whether it’s via phone, postal or email scams.

"The alliance gives local organisations an avenue to share intelligence about new and emerging scams and an opportunity to work together to prevent them.

"Although the alliance is in its infancy I’m really pleased so many organisations have already signed up and support this important work.
The alliance will work closely with the National Scams Team and continue to roll out the Friends Against Scams initiative."

Member organisations include council departments, West Midlands Police, Dudley Citizens Advice, Natwest, Castle and Crystal Credit Union, Nationwide, Lloyds, Dudley Building Society, Your Money Your Way CIC and Home Instead Senior Care. Sally Bourner, Chief Superintendent, Dudley Neighbourhood Policing Unit Commander, added:

"It is important to raise awareness of financial scams. We can all play our part in preventing financial crime and protecting vulnerable people from harm. Dudley is the safest borough in the West Midlands region and by working together we will keep it that way."

To find out more about the work to prevent scams in Dudley go to dudley.gov.uk/scams.