Milestone: International Agreement To Address Online Fraud

Uploaded on 2023-12-15 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW

Fraud is the most common crime in Britain and now the government has signed a milestone agreement with 12 of the largest global technology companies, which will see the firms commit to blocking and removing fraudulent content from their platforms.

The aim is to ensure that UK consumers are better protected from online scams, fake adverts and romance fraud as the world’s biggest tech companies pledge to take additional action to block and remove fraudulent content from their sites.

In what it claims is a world first . the UK government has joined forces with leading tech companies, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Match Group, Microsoft, Snapchat, TikTok, TwiiterX and YouTube, to commit to the Online Fraud Charter.

The service providers have committed to introduce measures to protect people from fraud and scam content when using their sites.

Actions include verifying new advertisers and promptly removing any fraudulent content. There will also be increased levels of verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces, and people using online dating services will have the opportunity to prove they are who they say they are.

The charter will be supported by tough action to crack down on illegal adverts and ads for age-restricted products, such as alcohol or gambling, being seen by children.

An action plan, agreed by the Online Advertising Taskforce, will be published today, setting out steps industry and government are taking to tackle harms and increase protections for children. This includes developing a base of evidence, improving information sharing and promoting industry best practice.

Commentinhg, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said “Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with online scammers targeting the most vulnerable in society... We have already taken action to go after these unscrupulous criminals, launching our Fraud Strategy and deploying a National Fraud Squad made up of 400 dedicated officers, all backed by £400 million... By joining forces with these tech giants we will continue to crack down on fraudsters, making sure they have nowhere to hide online.”

In addition to clamping down on scam posts offering goods and services, the Charter signatories commit to work closely with law enforcement in their efforts to target fraudsters. They have also committed to create direct channels tr law enforcement for users to report suspicious activity taking place on the services, making it easier to identify and remove fraudulent content.

The nature of online fraud is constantly evolving and tech companies are continually adapting and improving their approaches to combat this criminal activity.

Fraud is the most common crime in the UK, accounting for 40% of all crime in England and Wales. Last year, one in 17 reported being a victim of fraud, with over 3 million fraud incidents recorded. In addition to covering fraud, the signatories agreed to measures to prevent children seeing adult adverts for things such as alcohol and porn, and to cooperate more with police.

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