Bank staff have saved dozens of people in Brighton and Hove – mostly elderly – from becoming the victims of fraud.
Staff in local branches called the police 59 times last year, averting suspicious withdrawals and potentially saving vulnerable customers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Sussex Police said: “A rapid response scheme by banks and local police prevented 353 potential victims in Sussex from being defrauded out of £2 million in 2018, new figures have revealed.
“The Banking Protocol trains bank staff to spot when someone is about to fall victim to a scam and try to prevent them from withdrawing cash to give to a fraudster, after which they can request an immediate police response to the branch.
“A total of 19 arrests were made by Sussex Police last year through the initiative.
“The 353 calls to Sussex Police in 2018 from banks and other financial institutions under the Banking Protocol, related to potential victims with an average age of 75.
“In each case police responded and succeeded in ensuring that the person did not hand any money over.
“These interventions related to attempts at courier fraud, rogue trading, romance fraud, software service, financial abuse by someone known to the person and investment fraud.
“Latest figures published by UK Finance reveal that across the country the scheme has prevented £38 million of fraud and led to 231 arrests in 2018.
“The average age of a customer helped by the Banking Protocol nationally last year was 71, showing how fraudsters are often targeting more elderly victims with these types of scams.
“The Banking Protocol was rolled out by Sussex Police in June 2017.
“By March 2018 the scheme had been implemented by all 45 police forces across the UK.
“Since June 2017, 499 such calls have been received by Sussex Police from banks and £2,733,605 has been saved from being defrauded.
“Fifty-two payment service providers, including all the main high street banks and the Post Office, are now fully signed up to the Banking Protocol and have trained up their frontline branch staff in the steps that need to be taken when a customer is at risk.”
Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at trade body UK Finance, said: “Bank branch staff are on the front line in the fight against fraud as increasingly sophisticated gangs target consumers directly and trick them into withdrawing large sums of cash.
“This rapid response scheme is giving bank staff the tools they need to protect vulnerable customers from scams while helping local police catch fraudsters and bring them to justice.
