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Improving the Police Response to Online Fraud

Cross, C. ; Blackshaw, D. (2014) — Policing

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DOI: 10.1093/police/pau044 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Australia
Tags:   Australia, Financial Intelligence, Online Fraud, Police Partnership, Proactive Policing, Project Sunbird, Romance Scams, Victim Outreach
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Synopsis

            
This publication examines how police respond to online fraud and argues that fraud has not traditionally been a policing priority, especially in online forms. It notes that online fraud causes substantial monetary losses and harms victims beyond finances, including emotional and health impacts, and that reporting rates are low. The authors frame the problem through the example of advanced fee fraud and romance fraud, explaining how these schemes operate across borders and jurisdictions and how victims often do not recognize themselves as victims or report the crime. The article presents Project Sunbird as a proactive, intelligence-led policing approach implemented by the West Australian Police in partnership with the Department of Commerce. The program starts with identifying potential victims who remit money to West Africa, using financial intelligence to locate suspected victims and then contacting them via mail and, where appropriate, home visits. It involves a staged process: identifying victims, issuing letters to deter transfers, coordinating with Commerce to monitor and intervene in financial transactions, and ultimately investigating alleged offenders. The project also emphasizes recording incidents in official systems to build a clearer picture of online fraud and to justify resource allocation. Findings highlighted include that a majority of recipients cease overseas payments after receiving the first Sunbird letter (and additional decreases after a second letter), with some victims reporting education about fraud through the process. The authors claim several benefits of the approach, such as better knowledge of the problem, reduced losses, greater legitimacy for victims, more efficient police use of resources, and improved investigative coordination. They also acknowledge that long-term effects and potential displacement to other jurisdictions require further study.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The article identifies uncertainty about whether recipients who stop sending money to targeted West African countries stop transfers altogether or redirect payments elsewhere. It also calls for evidence on longer-term intervention effects, sustainability of initial outcomes, unintended consequences, and the crime-prevention contribution of the police–consumer-protection partnership.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
This is a descriptive case study of Project Sunbird in Western Australia. It outlines the program's five-stage, intelligence-led intervention model and draws on unpublished Project Sunbird, police, and Department of Commerce data, including financial-transfer monitoring before and after warning letters, operational records, and illustrative investigation cases.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The reported results rely substantially on unpublished operational data and short-term monitoring of transfers. The authors state that displacement to non-targeted countries cannot be assessed because broader transaction monitoring is outside the project scope. Longer-term effectiveness, sustainability, unintended consequences, and prevention effects require further research.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Research should assess Project Sunbird's longer-term effects, whether its initial success is sustained, and whether interventions displace transfers to non-targeted countries. Further analysis is also needed on the partnership's crime-prevention role beyond its use as a policing strategy.

          

              

    
    

        
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