The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) held a public awareness drive this November to educate Anguillians on various forms of fraud and their consequences.
The Travelling Red Flag Campaign encouraged residents to take a photo of themselves holding the FIU’s own red flag and submit it with a written warning of a potential fraud.
They were then asked to pass the flag on to another person who would repeat the process, and so on, until the holder of the flag on 17 November was asked to return it.
The delivery symbolised the FIU’s plea for fraudulent activity to be reported to its office, it said in a press release on 25 November.
The unit then created posters from the submissions and shared them on its Facebook page.
They included warnings of advance fee fraud, debit or credit card fraud, romance and online dating scams, business email compromise fraud, occupational fraud, and mystery shopper or survey scams.
“Fraud is the act of gaining a dishonest advantage, often financial, over another person,” the FIU said.
“It includes varying types of fraudulent activities perpetrated against persons of varying age, especially the most vulnerable.”
The FIU explained that this can include investment fraud such as a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, and those related to crypto currency and forex investment schemes, among others.
“Fraud not only impacts the victims and their families but can have a negative impact on Anguilla’s economy, public services and international relations,” the press release added.
The campaign was held in recognition of International Fraud Awareness Week which took place between 16 and 22 November.
It was also in support of the Internal Audit Department’s activities to raise awareness of fraud risks and key reporting lines for the public and government departments.
The Financial Intelligence Unit is a department of the Government of Anguilla, with responsibility for the investigation, detection, prevention and control of financial crimes.
Fraudulent activity can be reported to the FIU by email at [email protected] or on (264) 497-5696. More information is available on the FIU’s website here.
