In 2025, across the UK, there was a 31% increase in reports of investment fraud compared to 2024, with nearly 35,000 people becoming victims and losing an average of £25,000 each.
The City of London Police have said that £2.4 million is lost to investment fraud every day – equivalent to £1,675 every minute.
In Sussex, 662 victims of investment fraud lost over £19 million pounds last year.
Police Constable Bernadette Lawrie, Sussex Police’s Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer said the force had seen “a range of scams being reported, from fraudulent bond schemes and trading platforms to bogus cryptocurrency opportunities.” Fraudsters often use AI-manipulated deepfakes on social media which feature celebrities endorsing investment schemes.
Victims have been cold-called by fraudsters posing as reputable investment companies or banks. They report being convinced the calls were genuine because the criminals had details of existing transactions and investments and personal details – some of which they can harvest from people oversharing on their social media posts.
Report Fraud is the new national platform for reporting cybercrime and fraud to police. They have issued advice on spotting the warning signs of investment fraud. These include: being contacted out of the blue via ‘phone, email or social media; being pressured to respond quickly to a time limited offer; and being promised unusually high returns. If you can’t find the company on the FCA register, you should be very cautious and you should attempt to verify the company’s identity, location and regulatory status. If a celebrity appears to be endorsing a scheme, you can check on their official website or search for reports of their image being misused. It’s worth seeking independent financial advice and signing up for Report Fraud alerts.
One of my key responsibilities as Police and Crime Commissioner is to ensure there are quality-assured and accessible services for victims of crime. For over ten years now I have commissioned Victim Support to provide multi-crime support in Sussex, including dedicated fraud caseworkers. Last year, our Sussex Fraud Caseworkers received 1,269 referrals and supported 1,162 victims. Many of these victims, who had already experienced substantial financial losses, were vulnerable to further fraud attacks due to their mental and physical frailties and adult social care issues.
Over the last year, our Fraud Caseworkers were able to help many of these victims and recover £125,000 from banking institutions – bringing the total recovered for Sussex victims over three years to £2.75 million pounds.
Sussex Police was a trailblazer in tackling fraud and supporting potentially vulnerable people. Operation Signature, which is led by PC Bernie Lawrie, has been adopted by police forces nationally as the right way to recognise victims of all types of fraud as victims of crime and to provide preventative measures to support and protect them from further targeting.
Our Victim Support Fraud Peer Support Pilot offers one-to-one, group work and peer support to vulnerable fraud victims who have experienced relationship fraud across London, Sussex and Kent. Relationship fraud includes any fraud where a relationship has developed for example: Romance fraud; Carer fraud; Investment/Pension fraud; Doorstep fraud; and Financial abuse by relatives and partners. You can email them: FraudPeerSupportPilot@victimsupport.org.uk or call 0303 313 2955 or you can find out more on my specialist website Safe:Space Sussex in this section: https://www.safespacesussex.org.uk/about-different-types-of-crime/fraud/
Finally, the East Sussex Fraud Prevention Group has recently been established, chaired by Sussex Police. This means there is now a dedicated fraud focus across East Sussex too, building on existing work in West Sussex and Brighton and Hove. With criminals using AI tools, deepfake videos and, with so much of our shopping and banking and businesses conducted online, we need all our agencies to sharpen our awareness of potential frauds and scams and we need to encourage all victims to come forward and report every incident.
Victims who are vulnerable or elderly should report to Sussex Police by calling 101. Otherwise, reports should be made to Report Fraud: https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Sussex Police have a useful page on their website with links to several organisations who can help: https://www.sussex.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/useful-contacts-for-fraud-cyber-crime-advice/
Applications for my current round of Safer in Sussex Funding are now open.
One of the most satisfying parts of my job is being able to provide modest financial grants to community projects where local people have ideas to prevent crime or improve community safety. The current round of my Safer in Sussex Community Fund is now open and can award grants of up to £5,000 for projects that meet the criteria. The closing date for applications is 6 June 2026.
You can read more and apply here: https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/get-involved/apply-for-funding/safer-in-sussex-community-fund/ or you can email my team direct: pcc.funding@sussex-pcc.gov.uk
