Seventeen of the most influential consumer groups have called on the government to crack down on internet scams.
They urge the government to include online scams in its proposed Online Safety Bill in a joint letter to the Home Secretary and Digital Secretary.
The organisations want consumers to be better protected against the financial and emotional harm caused by these crimes.
Scams have escalated in the past 12 months as Action Fraud figures showed £1.7bn was reportedly lost to scams in the last year.
Many criminals have shifted their activity online as Action Fraud estimates that in the year to June 2020, 85% of all fraud was cyber-enabled.
Campaigners argue online platforms be given a legal responsibility to protect users from fake and fraudulent content on their sites that lead to scams.
They add the government has a perfect opportunity to deliver this in its proposed Online Safety Bill, which could be announced as part of next week’s Queen’s Speech on 11 May.
The organisations that have signed the letter include Which?, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Carnegie UK Trust, UK Finance, PIMFA, the City of London Corporation, City of London Police, The Investment Association, Association of British Insurers (ABI), MoneySavingExpert and Age UK.
In their letter, the organisations said:“Online platforms play a pivotal role in enabling criminals to reach and defraud internet users through the hosting, promotion and targeting of fake and fraudulent content on their sites, including adverts that they make significant profits from. Yet platforms have very little legal responsibility for protecting their users, despite often being the best placed to tackle harmful content.
“While we recognise there are initiatives being progressed by the government designed to tackle aspects of online fraud, there is a growing risk that current plans for future regulatory frameworks are not taking a comprehensive approach to the threats faced by consumers and do not reflect the extent or urgency of the problem.”
UK Finance figures showed a 32% increase in investment scam cases in 2020 that are often promoted through adverts on search engines and social media offering higher than average returns.
One victim of such a scam was Maria Teresa Jackson, 63, a teacher.
Jackson was tricked by an advert she saw on a social media site, featuring a fake news story with fabricated quotes from celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls.
She was told how he had become a millionaire by trading in Bitcoin.
Then she clicked the button and put in her details and soon received a phone call from a “financial advisor” who showed her around a professional looking website.
Over time she was persuaded to transfer increasing amounts of money to the scammer.
It later became clear the Bitcoin did not exist.
Scammers stole nearly £120,000 and First Direct, her bank, has so far refunded her half that amount.
Commenting on why new legislation is required PIMFA chief executive Liz Field said: “The financial services industry has along with our partners been calling for financial harm to be included in the Online Safety Bill for some time. It is now vital that the government takes action to provide better protection for consumers online by ensuring online search and social media firms take greater responsibility for what we, their customers, see on their platforms.
“The Online Safety Bill could provide a clear legal framework that would protect consumers from ever more sophisticated online fraud, largely perpetrated by organised criminals. PIMFA and our partners in this campaign continue to urge the government to include financial harm in the Online Safety Bill. Doing so would save thousands of victims suffering enormous financial and mental distress and would be one of the best possible ways to disrupt organised crime.”
Full list of 17 organisations that have signed the letter:
- Age UK
- The Association of British Insurers
- The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)
- Carnegie UK Trust
- City of London Corporation
- City of London Corporation Police Authority Board
- City of London Police
- Innovate Finance
- The Investment Association
- Money and Mental Health Policy Institute
- MoneySavingExpert
- Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association
- B&CE Ltd, provider of the People’s Pension
- TheCityUK
- UK Finance
- Victim Support
- Which?
