Financial Crime and Fraud: What Policing Looks Like Now

Описание: Fraud has quietly become one of the defining crimes of our time. It’s fast, often international, and increasingly cyber-enabled. In our latest Concord and Victory interview, we welcomed Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Tompkins from Northamptonshire Police for a wide-ranging conversation on financial crime, from everyday scams to complex investigations that can run for years.

The interview was led by Emilia Combastet (Lower Sixth, Lyttelton), Deputy Head of Stowe School Law Society, and it’s the kind of discussion pupils rarely get to hear in this level of practical detail.

A few themes really landed.

Richard defines financial crime (often framed as economic crime or fraud) as deception for dishonest gain, usually money, but with methods that range from opportunistic “volume fraud” right through to complex business and accounting cases. We explored why so much fraud now sits online, how criminals exploit new tools (including AI), and why prevention and public awareness matter so much when perpetrators can operate from the other side of the world.

The interview also unpacks how investigations actually happen on the ground: why specialist economic crime teams matter, how patterns and trends are identified, what gets prioritised when resources are finite, and how national systems such as Action Fraud are intended to help coordinate intelligence. We also touch on the role of banks and institutions in reporting suspicious activity, and why asset recovery powers can be such a practical way of disrupting criminality.

There’s a particularly useful segment on real-world scam types pupils will recognise: phishing texts, courier fraud, romance fraud, and the way repeat victimisation can happen once criminals have confidence a target will engage. There’s also a sharp audience question on contactless payment limits and whether convenience brings new opportunities for low-level theft and fraud.

If you’re interested in policing, law, safeguarding, cybercrime, financial education, or simply staying safer online, this one’s worth your time.