CONSUMERS and businesses in Hampshire are being warned to be vigilant against fraud after an accountancy firm found that nearly £800 million-worth of cases have been reported over a six-month period.

The total value of reported fraud between December 2014 and May 2015 was £798 million, marking an increase of nearly £80 million compared with the same period earlier, according to BDO.

And Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes is set to host a cyber crime breakfast meeting to help firms improve their security, recognise threats to their businesses and clients, and make sense of jargon.

Mr Hayes insists cyber attacks are increasing in severity and frequency and believes this is due to the anonymity afforded to criminals by the internet.

He said: “The fact that 90 per cent of large businesses and 74 per cent of small businesses have reported that they have suffered an information security breach demonstrates that every organisation needs to consider how they defend themselves against the cyber threats they face.”

The average cost per fraud was £3.27 million, which is almost double the £1.82 million average cost recorded 12 months ago, and shows that fraud is still a “big business”, BDO’s “fraudtrack” report found.

In the south-east, £460 million worth of cases were reported and nationally about one-quarter of reported fraud involved consumers being conned, with people falling victim to £188 million-worth of losses.

Kaley Crossthwaite, partner and head of fraud at BDO, said: “Our analysis shows a resurgence in reported fraud, indicating that people are still not being vigilant enough and need to step back and think about how they personally or their business is susceptible to fraud.”

She said that with the recently introduced pension freedoms allowing people more access to their cash, there is a risk that cases of “too good to be true” investment scams may increase.

Frauds covered in the report are those that have been declared publicly, such as being announced in the news or issued from a business.

Within the latest figures, frauds committed by employees cost UK organisations more than £46 million, BDO said. Common frauds included changing a supplier’s details to a friend or family member’s bank details.

The report also found that London and the South East had the highest value of reported fraud cases, at £460 million over the six-month period. Yorkshire had the second highest total, at £166 million. At the other end of the spectrum, reported frauds in East Anglia amounted to £242,776.

The meeting will be held at Hampshire Constabulary Training Headquarters in Netley on Tuesday, September 15.

To register for a place at the PCC event, email opcc@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.