Published 3 May 2023
Last updated 1 June 2023 — See all updates
Fraud Strategy: stopping scams
and protecting the public
Details
This strategy sets out a plan to stop fraud at source and pursue
those responsible wherever they are in the world, reducing fraud
by 10% on 2019 levels by December 2024.
Predatory criminals take money out of the pockets of hard working
people, businesses, and organisations, callously targeting the
most vulnerable, online and in their own homes. The volume and
severity of fraud also undermines public confidence in the rule
of law and threatens our national and economic security.
To deliver a 10% cut in fraud on 2019 levels by December 2024,
the government will:
-
establish a new national fraud squad with over 400 new
posts and make fraud a priority for the police
-
deploy the UK intelligence community and lead a new global
partnership to relentlessly pursue fraudsters wherever they
are in the world
-
put more fraudsters behind bars through better investigation
and prosecution processes for fraud and digital offences
-
ban SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands
of scam texts at once
-
stop fraudsters from being able to send mass text messages by
requiring mass texting services to be registered, subject to
a rapid review
-
Replace Action Fraud with a state-of-the-art system for
victims to report fraud and cyber crimes to the police
-
ban cold calls on financial products so fraudsters cannot
dupe people into buying fake investments
-
stop people from hiding behind fake companies and create new
powers to take down fraudulent websites
-
work with industry to make sure that intelligence is shared
quickly with each other and law enforcement
-
change the law so that more victims of fraud will get their
money back
-
overhaul and streamline fraud communications so that people
know how to protect themselves from fraud and how to report
it
-
make the tech sector put in place extra protections for their
customers and introduce tough penalties for those who do not
-
shine a light on which platforms are the safest, making sure
that companies are properly incentivised to combat fraud
The Fraud Strategy will benefit residents and businesses located
across the UK and make a material impact on the incidence of
fraud in all four nations.
