Fraud prevention advice given out during Chinese New Year celebrations in the city centre

Officers and staff from the Economic Crime Unit gave out crime prevention advice in Chinatown during Chinese New Year celebrations.

On Saturday 10 February 2024, officers from the Economic Crime Unit, alongside volunteers in the unit and also officers from across the force spoke to over 400 people throughout the day about fraud prevention ranging from general fraud advice, money mules and money laundering to ensure that our communities are well equipped to protect themselves against fraud and economic crimes.

The police officers at the prevention stall in Chinatown in the city centre spoke Mandarin to communicate crime prevention advice to the Chinese community and offer advice for fraud victims in both English and Mandarin.

Detective Sergeant Chee Chan, who attended the event, said: “農曆大年初二曼城唐人街萬眾同歡慶新年 警隊繼續堅守崗位，與大家一齊喜迎龍年，並祝願大家萬事如意、身體健康、龍年來臨、好運隨行”

Detective Sergeant Stacey Shannon, of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “It was great to see so many people approach our officers and staff at the crime prevention stall yesterday, which gave us the chance to reach over 400 people.

“It is what we are working towards and something we are passionate about, the more people we can reach, the more people can be equipped with crime prevention advice.

“Events like this will prevent people from becoming a victim, and also will provide guidance and contact details on how to report a fraud once it has happened.

“Our work to spread crime prevention in relation to fraud continues, last year we held 145 crime prevention events across Greater Manchester, there are so many different types of fraud out there to protect people from and our work to reach as many people in the community as possible continues to ensure that we equip the public with as much crime prevention advice as possible throughout into the new year.”

How to report:

 If you’ve been the victim of a fraud or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it to Action Fraud online at Reporting fraud and cybercrime | Action Fraud or contact 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm).