The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and Visa Europe announced that new guidance has been issued to assist frontline officers to assist in tackling payment card fraud.
The guidance, originally developed by Visa Europe and Grampian Police, identifies the types of equipment used to commit payment card fraud, the law in respect of these offences and how to best preserve evidence in cases of payment card fraud.
Figures from Financial Fraud Action UK show that total fraud losses on UK cards fell by 28% in 2009 demonstrating that collaboration between the financial sector and the police, combined with the success of initiatives such as ‘chip and PIN’ and ‘Verified by Visa’ are having a significant impact on payment card fraud.
The new guide will be issued to officers across Scotland to increase awareness of how payment card fraud is committed and ensure those responsible are identified and caught.
Kevin Smith, Senior Vice President of Visa Europe Fraud Management said:
"This is a fantastic idea and shows our commitment to working with Law Enforcement and in particular front line officers to ensure they have the knowledge and resource to help fight payment card crime."
Assistant Chief Constable Angela Wilson (Tayside Police) the ACPOS Strategic Lead for Financial and Business Crime added:
"We welcome the opportunity to work with Visa Europe in targeting serious and organised crime. The guidance will afford increased knowledge to front line officers throughout Scotland and increase their ability to target those involved in this type of criminality."
