Campaigning takes place to tackle charity sector fraud

A raft of activity is taking place to help tackle criminals targeting good causes, as part of Charity Fraud Awareness Week.

The campaign is being run by a partnership of charities, regulators and sector bodies to share best practices in tackling the criminals and promote measures to tackle fraud.

A series of free events is taking place, involving charities and fraud prevention experts.

This includes in person conferences in London today, Edinburgh on Tuesday and in Belfast on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a live webinar is being staged as 12noon on Tuesday entitled Staying on Track: Why Following Guidance is Important for Charities.

Counter fraud charity Fraud Advisory Panel has released a pack of resources including helpsheets and videos this week.

In addition, “a supporter’s pack” of website banners, posters and social media assets has been made available for charities.

This is the ninth year the campaign has taken place in the UK.

“Supporting charities with their counter fraud efforts will remain a priority for the Fraud Advisory Panel and we welcome the support of all involved this year with a view to continue growing Charity Fraud Awareness Week in future years,” said Fraud Advisory Panel head Matthew Field.

Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth added “We are encouraging charities to get involved in Charity Fraud Awareness Week. Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated as technology advances yet they are still often opportunistic.

“It's important for all charities to identify and manage possible risks, helping to protect themselves from fraud.”

A major risk that charities continue to face is around cyber security.

The government’s cyber security breaches survey found a third of charities had experienced a threat of attack during 2024.

It also revealed that charity leaders are falling behind their private sector counterparts in prioritising protection from cyber security risks.

While three quarters of senior managers in businesses consider cyber security a high priority, this proportion falls to less than two thirds among charity leaders, it found.