POLICE in the Thames Valley have this week launched a new initiative to protect people from fraud.
The Banking Protocol, which is already up and running in a number of other force areas, starts when a member of bank staff becomes suspicious of the circumstances surrounding a customer request or transaction.
If they believe a fraud could be being committed, they will attempt to keep the victim with them and call 999 to inform the police.
The Banking Protocol is aimed at the most common fraud types in which these instances occur which include romance scams, rogue trader offences and courier fraud.
From March to the end of November 2017, more than £11,444,438 in prevented fraud and 116 arrests can be directly attributed to the Banking Protocol.
A total of 1,437 emergency calls were placed and responded to.
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