£3m anti-fraud payment wins UK banks £65m back

A two-year pilot project designed to tackle credit card fraud has proved so successful that UK banks are handing over £3m to keep it going.

The DCPCU (Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit) was set up in April 2002 and has managed to save £65m by cutting down on fraud. Last year, the UK lost £402m to the fraudsters, mostly though organised crime, prompting the banks to commit £3m every year to make sure it can continue to operate.

The Unit - made up of officers from the Met and City of London police, with back-up and intelligence from the finance industry - was set up to tackle the gangs making fake credit cards in "factory-style operations". Since the Unit's creation, it has seen 171 arrests and 36,000 stolen cards and card details recovered.

Once such operation, Operation Hart, tackled criminals who were using fraudulent credit cards to go on a US spending spree worth $1.8m. The ringleader was caught and sentenced to five years in prison.

The Unit said the organised credit card fraud gangs are often linked to more serious crimes such as drug smuggling. The DCPCU's Operation Stamford put an end to a crime ring in Turkey that was linked to heroin trafficking.