Thousands of bankers trained to fight crime
A VIRTUAL “ring of steel” is being constructed to take on cyber crime, the British Bankers’ Association and the City of London police announced yesterday.
Thousands of bankers will be trained each year to spot scams and signs that bank accounts are being raided by fraudsters.
The police said they have stepped up co-operation with banks over the last nine months and believe they have stopped fraudsters stealing more than £173m from accounts.
The scheme saw new information of fraudsters circulated to banks, leading them to identify 20,000 accounts which were either being used by fraudsters or at risk of being used.
The new arrangement is intended to echo the ring of steel designed to deter terrorists from attacking the City, in the wake of IRA strikes in the 1990s. The original is made of CCTV cameras.
“We are teaming up with City workers and sharing our experience and expertise with the banks that are now the target or being used as a facilitator for organised crime,” said police commissioner Adrian Leppard.