Police in Derbyshire are launching a forcewide week of activity to tackle scams and frauds as part of a national month of action. 

The Stamp out Fraud in Derbyshire initiative will run from Monday, May 19 to Saturday, May 24 with a week full of community engagements and online input. 

Officers across the county will be teaming up with Derbyshire County Council’s Trading Standards and Derby City Council to raise awareness of scams and protect communities from becoming a victim of the crime.

Detective Inspector Rob King, Head of the Derbyshire Economic Crime Unit said:

“This week of action is a fantastic opportunity for us to work alongside our partners across the county to increase public knowledge of the crime, offer support and advice and raise awareness of the campaign.

“Fraudsters can be convincing and appear genuine but thankfully there is lots of support and information available so that we can all take the steps to protect ourselves from the crime.

“The message is simple and clear, if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.”

Commissioner Alan Charles added: “This initiative shows the power of partnership working, with different specialists pulling together to tackle crime. 

“All too often this type of crime sees avaricious criminals preying on elderly or vulnerable victims and while I hope that this week provides them with information to protect themselves I really hope that it will raise awareness of the problem so that neighbours, families and friends be on the lookout for people behaving suspiciously.”

The week-long drive will see Community Safety officers and Safer Neighbourhood teams across the force heading out into the local communities to advise residents about the steps that they can take to protect themselves from the crime.

Events include:

• Bakewell Market on Monday 19^th May between 10am and 12noon;
• Buxton Spring Gardens on Tuesday 20^th between 12noon and 2pm;
• Belper Safer Neighbourhood Team will be at B&M Bargains in Belper between 10am and 2pm on Tuesday 20^th;
• Liberation Day in Swadlincote on Wednesday 21^st between 10am and 2.30pm;
• Shirebrook Christian Centre on Wednesday 21^st;
• Eagle Marketplace in Derby on Friday 23^rd between 11am and 3pm;
• Big Cycle Day out at Derby Marketplace on Saturday 24^th, running all day.

Top cops will be taking to the hot seat to give members of the public the chance to ask questions and gain specialist advice on a range of fraud topics. The surgery will go live on Wednesday 21^st May and will take place between 6pm and 8pm.

Visit the dedicated Stamp out Fraud page on the force website for the latest news, information videos and useful advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of the crime. This can be found at: www.derbyshire.police.uk/stampoutfraud

To find out more about events in your area call your local Safer Neighbourhood team on 101, the non-emergency number for Derbyshire police.