Big UK banks and big tech have joined together to commit to battling the ongoing fraud challenge which is impacting the financial services sector. Amazon, Barclays, BT, Google, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, Match Group, Meta, Monzo, Santander, and Three joined in signing a statement to support Stop Scams UK’s data sharing on fraud.
As previously reported, fraud is the most prominent crime in the UK. Much of the fraud is perpetrated by leveraging social media to fleece the unsuspecting of their money.
Ruth Evans, Chair of Stop Scams UK, says the pledge is a “testament to the work” her group has accomplished.
“Through our pilot work to share fraud data between industry sectors, we have proved that collaboration gets ahead of the criminals and defeats fraudsters. By making this pledge, our members are redoubling their efforts to create a safer environment for all businesses and consumers online. We invite more to join us in this effort, as a united front will build greater consumer awareness, safeguard more individuals, and bring more criminals to justice.”
Stop Scams UK said it looks forward to collaborating with the UK government to make the UK the most inhospitable jurisdiction for fraud.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta’s Global Head of Counterfraud, said the company is committed to creating a safe and secure online environment.
“That’s why we’re proud to be a member of Stop Scams UK, which was played a key role in helping to establish our first-of-its-kind information sharing partnership, the FIRE (Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange) programme, with banks to help protect people against fraud. Scams are a society-wide problem which requires industry, government and others to work together, and we will continue to expand and evolve our collaboration to stop fraudsters in their tracks.”
Fraud expert Jonathan Frost, Director of Global Advisory at BioCatch, welcomed the initiative and said effective data sharing can help mitigate the threat.
“Whilst such initiatives are welcome, we need to be certain they will translate into effective data-sharing at a scale that is commensurate with the size of the threat. A recent letter from Which? and UK Finance makes it clear that, to date, voluntary undertakings have had no meaningful impact on the volume of fraud in the UK. Ideally, we should be setting out to prevent fraud by ensuring citizens do not encounter illegal content. With enforcement of the Online Safety Act (OSA) set to take place no sooner than 2027, we must ask ourselves if, once again, the carrot will succeed or in all likelihood, will nothing change until the stick arrives.”
The participation of large social media platforms are key to battling the scammers. Confidence scams are common on social media platforms. At the same time, law enforcement must have the capacity to pursue fraudsters wherever they may be located.
The UK government has been criticized for its lack of action in regard to digital fraud. As well, some believe enablers like big tech must share liability to incentivize their commitment to attacking the crime.