The police are stepping up efforts to fight fraud involving criminals impersonating large UK food retailers.
In a report on the growing threat of impersonation fraud, The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau said it was intent on “shining a light on the offending”. The City of London Police unit added that it was alerting national and international law enforcement agencies to the problem and presenting guidance on the due diligence companies should follow to protect themselves.
It said it had received 600 reports of companies from across Europe falling victim to the frauds. “European distribution fraud has been a threat since 2010 and in recent years has continued to increase” it said.
The fraudsters work by posing as well-known UK retailers and persuading small and medium-sized foreign suppliers to sell them large quantities of stock. Once it is delivered, the criminals go to ground and the suppliers are not paid.
The Grocer has been alerted to a number of such cases. Over the past year, Holland & Barrett has been invoiced by dozens of European suppliers for orders it never made and Asda was also targeted in a case involving a Polish supplier that had thousands of pounds of Snickers stolen. Fraudsters have also impersonated M&S, The Co-op and Sainsbury’s, according to a separate report from the Metropolitan Police.
Responsibility for Action Fraud - the group victims should go to in order to report impersonation frauds - is being transferred to NFIB from the Home Office this year.
It has also appointed detective sergeant Lara Xenoudakis to act as a point of contact.
Last week, trade credit insurer Atradius told The Grocer there had been a spike in the number of claims relating to impersonation fraud in the food industry in the past two years.
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