APPG seeks to protect millennials from financial crime

This review is seeking views and best practice from the industry, law enforcement, the education and voluntary sector, and government on the scale of the problem.

It also seeks details on projects to help prevent financial crimes amongst young people and thoughts on how current work can be improved.

The misuse of bank accounts involving 18 to 24-year olds increased by 75 percent in the first nine months of 2017, compared to the same period the year before, according to fraud prevention service Cifas.

The APPG said the most common misuse of bank accounts is when an individual acts as a “money mule”, which means they allow their bank account to be used to facilitate the movement of criminal funds.

Research commissioned by NatWest shows the same age group are less likely to be cautious online compared to older generations - this can put them at an increased risk of falling victim to online fraud.

The same research found that more than 80 percent are willing to share their email address online with their friends, and as many as 29 percent are willing to share their mother’s maiden name (a commonly used security question). This contrasts with only 12 percent of over 55s willing to share their mother’s maiden name.

Conor Burns MP, chair of the APPG on Financial Crime and Scamming, said: “Acting as a money mule is money laundering and has serious consequences, when you’re caught, your bank account will be closed, making it difficult to access cash and credit. You could even face up to 14 years in jail.

“If we have any hope of tackling and preventing financial crime then we must ensure that future generations know the advice to follow to prevent themselves from either falling victim to scams or committing fraud themselves.”

Readers can give their own responses to the review here.