Simon Read explores the psychological impact on people who fall victim to fraudsters. He also asks Britain's top fraud police officer what is being done to tackle this epidemic.

Simon Read explores the psychological impact on people who fall victim to fraudsters. He talks to people who've suffered emotional distress having fallen victim to the UK's fastest growing crime. He hears how the impact is way beyond the original financial loss and includes not just the person who was conned but their freinds and families as well.

Last year 660,000 fraud incidents were officially reported but the recent crime survey for England and Wales suggested there were more than 5 million frauds last year and half of those were committed online. This suggests a lot of victims aren't contacting the police - perhaps out of embarrassment or shame.

Simon talks to psychologists who provide insight into the type of people who are likely to fall victim to fraud and they discuss coping strategies and the importance of seeking help.

Britain's top fraud police officer explains the difficult in trying to police online crime and explains what is being done to try and tackle this epidemic.

If you've been affected been any of the issues raised in this programme there is support available -

People living in England and Wales can call Victim Support on 0808 1689111

People living in Scotland can call Victim Support Scotland on 0345 603 9213

People living on Northern Ireland can go to http://www.victimsupportni.co.uk/ for further information.

Presenter: Simon Read

Producer: Ben Carter

Editor: Andrew Smith.