SAFE helps to develop national fraud prevention material
November 23, 2022
In 2021, SAFE delivered an innovative mandate fraud prevention exercise at Dorset HealthCare. The exercise aimed to raise awareness of this type of fraud amongst suppliers to the NHS, in particular SME suppliers (small and medium-sized enterprises), to protect NHS resources from fraud losses.
A key element of the exercise was providing SME suppliers with fraud awareness and prevention material relating to password security and business email compromise, both enablers of mandate fraud.
As a result of our work at Dorset HealthCare, SAFE has been working with a Senior Fraud Prevention Officer from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) to develop a national mandate fraud prevention resource pack for the NHS.
SAFE’s collaboration with NHSCFA has culminated in the publication of a blog post by Andy Knight, SAFE Head of Counter Fraud, on the NHSCFA Ngage portal. In the blog, Andy discusses the exercise and its success in reducing associated fraud risks and leading to a measured increase in fraud awareness.
Accredited Local Counter Fraud Specialists (LCFS), Directors of Finance, and Audit Committee Chairs nominated via NHSCFA can now access the
resource pack and the
blog post via the NHSCFA Ngage portal.
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We are excited to announce that we have recently had the ISO 9001:2015 audit and can confidently say we passed with flying colours!
When Sarah Whitaker approached an introductory care agency to find a carer for her 89 year old father she expected they would refer a suitably qualified and professional carer. Instead, Sarah was 'horrified' to discover that an unqualified imposter had been in her fathers home for almost three weeks! Unfortunately Sarah's story, reported by Sky News , is not as uncommon as one might expect. In January 2024, a man admitted impersonating a nurse and accessing resuscitation and children's areas at a hospital in Glasgow (BBC News) . SAFE has experience of dealing with a number of similar cases where an unqualified imposter had been found to be working in place of the qualified professional that was expected.
International Fraud Awareness Week (IFAW) 2024 takes place from 17-23 November, and SAFE continues to support this global effort to minimise the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education. Fraud and cybercrime account for over 40% of all crime in England and Wales, affecting more people, more often, than any other crime. The social and economic cost to individuals is estimated to be in excess of £4.7 billion a year. So don’t wait until #fraudweek to become a fraud fighter!
