VICTIMS of 11 alleged frauds in Warwickshire lost a total of £620,000.
Police in the county have arrested 10 suspects and questioned a further seven under caution in relation to 11 different investigations as part of Operation Henhouse, a national fraud crackdown which ran throughout February.
One of the investigations is into the alleged theft of more than £500,000 of goods from a Warwickshire delivery firm, when parcels were reportedly redirected to incorrect addresses.
Officers arrested five men on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud, and another was interviewed under caution. Officers also seized £37,000 in cash and two cars worth around £30,000.
A 41-year-old man from Leamington was also interviewed under caution in connection with an incident where a man was defrauded out of almost £60,000 in a banking scam.
Two women from Leamington were questioned following allegations they defrauded a Warwick business out of £11,000 through falsely claiming hours worked, and fraudulently using the company credit card.
A 52-year-old man from Leicestershire was arrested on suspicion of theft from an employer and fraud after a fuel card was stolen from a business in Rugby and used to pay for more that £1,700 in petrol.
And a 47-year-old man from Leamington was interviewed under caution in connection with the fraudulent use of a credit card to a value of more than £300.
Det Sgt Paul Hainsworth from the Fraud Team said: “We are seeing criminals become more convincing and finding new ways to use technology to defraud people.
“Months of action such as this send out a message that people can’t hide behind a computer screen and that we can identify you – and we will work to bring offenders to justice.
“Members of the public can help. We all get calls and emails we suspect are fraudulent and we just ignore them. By reporting these to Action Fraud, they are better placed to close these scams down, identifying those responsible and ultimately helping to ensure others don’t fall victim.”
Visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/contact-us for more information on how to report a fraud or attempted fraud.
