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Investigating Fraud

Investigation — Authorised Professional Practice

All topics

Summary

The volume and complexity of fraud affecting the UK is on the rise, with fraudsters exploiting trust and causing significant harm to the public. The globalised nature of fraud, exacerbated by new technologies, allows traditional crimes to be committed in innovative ways using computers and communication technologies. This guidance aims to provide police forces with a consistent approach to investigating fraud cases, addressing the current landscape and the strategies needed to combat these offences effectively.

Key principles

  • 1Fraud is increasing in complexity and volume.
  • 2Fraudsters exploit public trust for personal gain.
  • 3New technologies facilitate the evolution of fraud.
  • 4Consistent responses from police forces are essential for effective investigations.

Defined terms

Fraud
Exploitation of trust for personal gain, resulting in public harm.

Full guidance

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

The volume of fraud impacting on the United Kingdom is growing in complexity and diversity. Those who commit fraud exploit and profit from misplaced trust and act to the detriment of public through the serious harm they cause.

Fraud has been globalised and the reach of the fraudster has increased through the use of new technologies, enabling traditional crime to be committed in new ways through the use of computers, computer networks or other forms of information communications technology.

This advice is intended to support forces to provide a consistent response to investigating fraud.

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Reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as captured on 2026-06-27. APP is amended over time — check the source link below for the current version. This is a reference, not operational authorisation.

APP is the authoritative source for UK policing practice and is updated over time. For the current, official version — including any operational detail not reproduced here — go direct.

Read the full APP guidance

Source: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.