techUK news and views
04 Dec 2023

Policy Pulse 1st December - The Online Fraud Charter

Fraud is now the most commonly experienced crime in the UK, costing over a hundred billion pounds every year, with online fraud making up an increasing proportion of incidents. 

The way fraud is committed is changing and dynamic. The pandemic changed the landscape as organisations accelerated the shift to digital operations, and the fraudsters followed suit. 

Over the last six months techUK has been working with our members and the Government on a new Online Fraud Charter to update how the UK responds to online fraud in an effort to prevent crime and reduce the number of businesses and consumers who fall victim to fraud.  

This has culminated in the signing of a world first Online Fraud Charter. The Charter is a world first initiative setting out commitments from techUK members including: Amazon, eBay, Google, Linkedin, Match Group, Meta, Tiktok and X, that was developed in collaboration with the Home Office and No.10 Downing Street. 

As well as clamping down on scam posts, the signatories have also committed to work more closely with law enforcement in their efforts to target fraudsters. This will mean direct routes for law enforcement to report suspicious activity, making it easier to quickly identify and remove fraudulent content and protect users. 

Members have also agreed to continue expanding measures to help protect people from fraud and scam content when using their sites. Actions include verifying new advertisers, blocking fraudulent material and horizon scanning on evolving fraud threats.  

The Charter also focuses on increasing levels of verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces, as well as people using online dating services having the opportunity to prove they are who they say they are. 

The Charter has brought about commitments in a total of nine different areas, to continue comprehensively tackling fraud. These are: 

  1. Blocking- Deploying measures to detect and block fraudulent material 

  1. Reporting- Having a simple and quick route to report fraudulent material 

  1. Takedowns- Taking action against fraudulent content and users straight away 

  1. Advertising- Deploying measures to protect people from fraudulent adverts 

  1. Law Enforcement- Having dedicated liaisons who will respond to law enforcement requests 

  1. Intelligence Sharing- Engaging with initiatives to quickly share information about frauds 

  1. Transparency- Providing information about fraud risks and what is being done to address them 

  1. Comms- Delivering simple messaging to support the public to recognise and avoid online fraud 

  1. Horizon Scanning- Contributing to horizon scanning exercises to stay ahead of the threat 

On signing the Charter, techUK’s Deputy CEO Antony Walker said “We are pleased to have worked at pace with the government in the development of the Online Fraud Charter which will improve the coordination of actions by tech firms to tackle online fraud.  

You can find our more information about the Charter from the Government here and on the techUK website here.  

techUK is stepping up our work on fraud misinformation and deepfakes and this is just one part of our work. To find our more visit our website here. techUK members can also get involved in our work via our Online Fraud Working Group. Members can sign up here.  

Neil Ross
Associate Director, Policy  

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Neil Ross

Neil Ross

Associate Director, Policy, techUK

Oliver Alderson

Oliver Alderson

Policy and Public Affairs - Team Assistant, techUK

 

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