Multi Agency Approach to Fraud (MAAF) Group
Support for victims, families, and local communities
Feel safer
Victim Support can offer advice and guidance to help you feel more secure, including safety planning and the provision of practical security measures.
Find Ways to Cope
Staff and volunteers from Victim Support can help you make sense of what you’ve been through and explore your options to help you regain control. Victim Support also have a range of digital and printed resources to help you move forward.
Understand Your Options
Victim Support make sure you’re aware of the rights and services you’re entitled to as a victim of crime, and help you navigate the criminal justice system.
Connect with Specialist Services and Support Networks
If you need help that Victim Support staff and volunteers cannot provide, they’ll connect you with other specialist services.
Victim Support Gloucestershire
Victim Support Gloucestershire is a charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime.
Anyone living in Gloucestershire can reach out to Victim Support for a one-off chat or take up ongoing support, with a plan tailored to meet your individual needs.
Victim Support is independent of the police, and the support offered is free and confidential.
The bulk of Victim Support’s services are delivered locally through staff and volunteers who are deeply rooted in their communities.
How to Contact Victim Support
Call Your Local Team:
- Freefone: 0808 281 0112 (Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm)
- Text Relay UK: Download the app at relayuk.bt.com/how-to-use-relay-uk/download-app.html
You can also request support from your local team online.
24/7 Supportline:
- Phone: 08 08 16 89 111
- Live Chat: victimsupport.org.uk/live-chat
Language Support: If English is not your first language and you’d like support, call our Supportline on 08 08 16 89 111 and let us know which language you speak. We will call you back with an interpreter as soon as possible. We also welcome calls via Relay UK and Convo (formerly SignLive)(BSL).
Support for Children and Young People: If you’re a child or young person under 18 looking for support, please visit our children and young people website You Got This Glos.
Further information: Discover more online at www.victimsupport.org.uk. Access My Support Space, our free online resource containing interactive guides to help you manage the impact of crime. Or download our free app at www.victimsupport.org.uk/MSS_app/.
Support for victims of fraud
Experiencing fraud can be overwhelming.
Being deceived into losing something that’s personal to you, can leave you feeling uncertain about who you can turn to for help and support.
Fortunately, there are plenty of reliable resources available to help anyone who has been affected by fraud, which you’ll find below.
Tools to help you cope
These resources can help you move on after being a victim of fraud.
Online help from Victim Support, featuring easy to understand articles on topics including ‘Fraud: phishing and smishing’, ‘Fraud on social media’, ‘Identity fraud’, ‘Investment fraud’, ‘Romance fraud’, and ‘Sextortion’, as well as guidance to help you cope: My Support Space website
A directory of befriending services in the UK: Befriending website
A free, confidential 24/7 helpline for older people: The Silver Line website
An online resource to help you spot, avoid and report scams: Independent Age website
Help with financial difficulties
If fraud has left you with worries about money, here are some resources that can help you get back on track.
A first step to finding local support: gov.uk local authority search website
An online hub featuring three government-backed financial guidance providers: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise: Money Helper website
Help with managing debt and other financial issues: Citizens Advice website
A digital self-help platform using CBT techniques to help with money worries: SilverCloud website
Start getting your finances back on track with this free debt advice and support service: Step Change website
Agencies that support victims of fraud
Here are some local and national organisations that can help victims of fraud.
- Victim Support
- free, independent, and confidential support for anyone affected by crime, including fraud: Victim Support website
- Age UK Gloucestershire
- confidential advice and support for older people, their families and carers. Includes Digital Champions to help users embrace technology safely, drop-ins, and social groups: Gloucestershire Age UK website
- GDASS (Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service)
- support to live safely and move on from domestic abuse, including financial abuse such as being bribed, money being taken, or forced to work or steal: GDASS website
- Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
- access a team of Community Safety Advisors that conducts ‘Safe and Well’ visits at people’s homes, offering fire safety advice and advice on general wellbeing: Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service website
- Gloucestershire Health and Social Care Services
- access a range of support to meet health and social care needs: Gloucestershire Health and Social Care website
- Citizens Advice
- practical advice you can trust on what to do if you think you’ve been scammed: Citizens Advice website
- Hourglass
- dedicated to helping those affected by the abuse of older people: wearehourglass.org
- Women’s Aid
- working to end domestic abuse against women and children: womensaid.org.uk
- Cyber helpline
- free, expert advice for victims of cybercrime, digital fraud and online harm: thecyberhelpline.com/
Practical support
Use these tools and resources to help protect yourself from fraud, or move forward with confidence if you’ve been targeted by scammers.
Online help from Victim Support, featuring easy to understand articles on topics including ‘Fraud: phishing and smishing’, ‘Fraud on social media’, ‘Identity fraud’, ‘Investment fraud’, ‘Romance fraud’, and ‘Sextortion’, as well as guidance to help you cope: My Support Space website
Practical advice you can trust on how to make a small claim to get compensation or your money back: Citizens Advice website
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be your bank, stop, hang up and call 159. Provided by Stop Scams UK, 159 will put you directly through to your bank to check if the caller was genuine: Stop Scams UK website
A free and easy to use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services: Financial Ombudsman website
A useful tool to see whether an image is being used fraudulently or exists anywhere else online: Google reverse search website
Practical tips to stay safe online from SafeLives, a UK charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse: SafeLives website
Giving vulnerable people a range of support to protect against scams, including an option to register their status, helping them avoid the same difficult conversations every time they engage with organisations like lenders and creditors: Vulnerability Registration Service website
Apply for Protective Registration to ensure extra identity checks are carried out to help prevent fraud in your name, or find out why fraud prevention agencies might be refusing you credit: Cifas website
Information about fraud and financially motivated internet crime from the UK’s National Fraud & Cybercrime Reporting Centre, run by the City of London Police working alongside the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. Report fraud, access fraud prevention resources, and stay up to date with the latest scams: Report Fraud website
A step-by-step guide to seeking a reimbursement following an Authorised Push Payment Fraud (or bank transfer scam) from Take Five, a national campaign led by UK Finance.
A step-by-step guide to seeking a reimbursement following an Authorised Push Payment Fraud (or bank transfer scam) from consumer rights giant Which?
Invaluable information
Here’s a list of advice and guidance on a wide range of fraud-related topics.
Search this online register of businesses approved by Trading Standards: buywithconfidence.gov.uk
Advice and guidance on avoiding investment and pension scams: met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/little-booklet-investment-scams.pdf
A website from the body responsible for regulating financial services in the UK, featuring advice and guidance on how to avoid being scammed, warnings about unregistered companies and a searchable database about cloned companies: fca.org.uk/
Find out how crypto scams work, how to avoid them, and what to do if you’ve been scammed: fca.org.uk/consumers/crypto-investment-scams
Advice and guidance from the NCA on sextortion (or financially motivated sexual extortion): www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/kidnap-and-extortion/sextortion?highlight=WyJzZXh0b3J0aW9uIl0=
Advice and guidance from consumer rights giant Which? on how buying goods on your credit card can give you extra protection if things go wrong: which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act-aZCUb9i8Kwfa
An initiative from Trading Standards to inform and empower people about fraud: friendsagainstscams.org.uk/
Working to protect consumers from rogue traders: nationaltradingstandards.uk/
Advice and guidance on how to spot and evade different types of scams: thamesvalley.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/thames-valley/fraud/little-book-big-scams.pdf
Advice and guidance from consumer rights giant Which? on how to spot and evade a range of scams: www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/scams
Advice and guidance from the UK Government on how to stay safe from fraud: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/
An online tool to check if the dating website you’re using is registered with the ODDA: https://theodda.org/for-consumers/
Advice and guidance from Age UK on power of attorney: ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/power-of-attorney/
Full details of how to make, register or end a lasting power of attorney: gov.uk/power-of-attorney
Check your credit score and access helpful information about avoiding identity theft: experian.co.uk
Learn how to spot and report scam emails, texts, websites and calls: ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams
A leading source of factual and easy to understand information about online safety: getsafeonline.org/
Rhiannon Parker, Fraud Protect Officer at Gloucestershire Constabulary, provides free ‘Fraud Awareness and Advice’ talks for groups in the community.
Rhiannon will provide you, and your community group, with all the latest information about the types of fraud you need to be aware of, so you can stay one step ahead and protect yourself.
“Talking about fraud can feel scary, but this talk should strip the worry away and give you a better understanding of fraud and how to keep yourself safe from it,” says Rhiannon.
To find out more and book your free ‘Fraud Awareness and Advice’ talk, please email: Rhiannon.Parker@gloucestershire.police.uk
Get involved with the largest volunteer-led crime prevention charity in England and Wales: ourwatch.org.uk/