Spike in fraud offences since the outbreak of Covid-19

New statistics issued by the CSO show incidences of most criminal offences have fallen in the last 12 months but there has been a rise in cases of fraud and weapons offences

Fraud and related offences increased by 1,101, or 13.7% in the year to the end of quarter one of 2021, including a sharp increase in phone and email scams, as highlighted by gardaí and State agencies in recent weeks. File picture

Most criminal offences have fallen sharply since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns, according to new statistics issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

However, the number of fraud and related incidents increased during that time when compared to the same period the previous year.