Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money obtained unlawfully through phishing scams was recovered in (a) 2014 to date, (b) 2013, (c) 2012, (d) 2011 and (e) 2010.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Government is committed to recovering the proceeds of all crimes – there is a commitment in the 2013 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy to pursue criminal finances by making it harder to move, hide and use the proceeds of crime. We are taking forward this commitment by bringing forward improved asset recovery provisions in the Serious Crime Bill, which is currently before Parliament, and we are working with operational partners to ensure that the use of existing asset recovery powers is considered at the outset of all appropriate investigations.