Tech companies join banking industry to tackle fraud

Take Five to Stop Fraud today announces that major technology companies, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft and TikTok have pledged to support Take Five to Stop Fraud, the anti-fraud campaign run by UK Finance.

This announcement coincides with Take Five Week, a week dedicated to highlighting the work of the campaign that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud.

The technology companies are collectively donating $1million worth of advertising to the campaign which will help publicise the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice to consumers and enable it to reach a significant proportion of the online population with these important messages. The technology companies will also be making use of the Take Five content in their own communications.

This pledge of support flows from the work of a recently established Online Fraud Steering Group, which brings together representatives from the technology and banking industries and law enforcement to work together to tackle fraud. Increasing consumer awareness about the types of fraudulent activity online is an important part of this collaboration.

David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said:

“Fraud poses a major threat to the UK and criminals are continuing to find new ways to target people with online scams.

“Tackling fraud is an absolute priority for the banking and finance industry, but it’s one that requires work across different sectors of the economy. We are delighted that these major technology companies have agreed to support the work of Take Five as part of our collaborative approach to tackling fraud. The advertising that is being provided will enable Take Five to reach a wider audience and is an important step in our efforts to help consumers stay protected from fraud and scams.”

Julian David, CEO techUK said:

“Tackling fraud and ensuring customer safety is a major on-going priority for tech companies. Support for the Take Five campaign builds on years of investment and activity to tackle cyber threats including online fraud.

"The support by major tech companies for the Take Five campaign is part of a collaborative and innovative whole-system approach to tackling online fraud. This pledge of support will help the Take Five campaign reach an even wider audience and ensure consistency of messaging across the technology, banking, and finance industries.”