Police issue scam alert reminder after £23 million lost to fraud across West Mercia in 2025
A total of 3,386 reports of fraud were made to police from Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire
West Mercia Police is urging people to check they know how to protect themselves from scams and what to do if they are sent any, after millions was lost to fraud in the force area last year.
A total of £23.8m was reported to have been lost in 2025 according to data from Report Fraud, the national service offering specialist help to fraud victims.
3,176 were said to be individuals, with their reports adding up to £20.5m, while the rest of the overall number consisted of 133 limited companies, 14 sole traders, seven charities, 11 PLCs and several other organisations.
Fraud and cyber protection officer from West Mercia Police, Rebecca Smith, said: "With the figures reported, it shows that fraud remains one of the most common crimes in the UK.
"It also highlights that fraudsters don't just target the vulnerable, they target everyone.
"Just looking in your spam folder of your emails will show you the level of junk emails that are filtered every day, but this is just one means of communication used by the fraudsters, we need to protect ourselves on all means of communication."
Other figures revealed just short of 100 people (95) were the victims of romance fraud and saw their losses add up to £480,500.
The police force is reminding people to take extra care and be vigilant to any threats, but also report them as well to the correct places if they do receive any.
"One of the most important messages we can pass on is if someone you don't know or even if someone claiming to be known contacts you unexpectedly and pressures you for money, personal information or quick action, stop and think fraud," officer Smith said.
"Fraudsters are always adapting there methods so there's no one rule to follow, but focus on the red flags and trust your instincts.
"Scammers rely on urgency, emotion, secrecy, trust and impersonation to bypass your better judgement, if something feels off, it probably is."
More information and advice can be found on the West Mercia Police website.