Fraud hit 20-year high in 2010

The number of recorded fraud cases last year rose by 16% to 314 which is the highest in more than 20 years and cost victims almost £1.4bn, the Times reports. The Government is being targeted increasingly by fraudsters and accounts for two out of every five cases, according to KPMG. Meanwhile, there were 70 reported cases against public sector agencies, compared with 59 in 2009. However, despite the rise in public sector cases, banks were the most common targets of fraud last year. There were 87 recorded instances involving financial institutions, costing them £267m, according to KP...