LOCAL MP Mel Stride has welcomed a new government campaign aimed at cracking down on fraud and stopping people becoming victims of scammers.

The new “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign will give people fraud safety advice and top tips to help stop them being scammed. It is part of a wider Fraud Strategy to clamp down on fraud across the country.

Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon and Secretary of State for Department of Work and Pensions, said: “I see fraud as very much a local issue, as people can fall victim to scammers whether they live in a town, city or the countryside.

“This is why I am keen to raise awareness of the campaign locally and help people here in Central Devon stop fraudsters from stealing their hard-earned cash.”

The government’s long-term fraud strategy is helping drive down fraud and computer misuse, which has fallen by 13 per cent in the last year according to the latest data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales.

Since 2019, Mr Stride said that the Conservative Government has implemented a whole range of long-term reforms to tackle fraud by creating new national fraud squad with over 400 new investigators, banning SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands of scam texts and stopping cold calls for financial products so people cannot be duped by scammers.