has been appointed as the
Prime Minister’s new Anti-Fraud Champion.
Mr Fell has been the Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness
since 2019. Before being elected he worked for Cifas, an industry
leader in fraud prevention, for 9 years. He most recently served
as its Director for External Affairs.
The Anti-Fraud Champion, which is a voluntary position, is
responsible for driving collaboration between the government, law
enforcement and the private sector to help block fraud, which
accounts for 40% of all crime in the United Kingdom.
Key areas of engagement include the banking, tech and telecoms
sectors.
Home Secretary said:
I am delighted to welcome Simon to his new position, which is at
the very heart of our efforts to protect the public from fraud.
His proven track record will allow us to build on our recent
successes, which include reducing fraud by 13% and rolling out
the world’s first ever Online Fraud Charter.
Security Minister said:
It’s a pleasure to welcome Simon to his new post as the
government’s new Anti-Fraud Champion.
I’m confident that he’ll build on the excellent work done by
, and am certain his
proven experience will help the government deliver on the vital
work we are doing to protect the public and stop fraudsters in
their tracks.
Anti-Fraud Champion said:
I’m delighted to accept this position. Fraud is an insidious
crime that is too common and which profoundly harms those
affected.
We have to turn the tide, and I look forward to working with
Ministers, industry, law enforcement, and civil society to
strengthen our response and better protect society from this
crime.
A central part of Mr Fell’s role will be overseeing the
implementation of the Online Fraud Charter, which was agreed with
12 of the world’s biggest tech companies last month.
Commitments within the charter include verifying new advertisers,
quickly removing fraudulent content and increasing the levels of
verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces. These will be rolled
out over the next 6 months.
Mr Fell has assumed the position from , who has assumed a
ministerial post at the Department for Transport.
