Fraud: 'We need tech and telecoms companies to go further to protect the public' says Lord Hanson, launching new government strategy

We all know what fraud looks like these days.

The text from the delivery company urging us to click a link to accept a package. The phone call from our bank asking us to confirm details to authorise a payment. The email from a social media company asking us to confirm our password to protect our account.

The world around us has changed and so too has the threat from fraud.

Whether you’re being pressured to move a conversation off a dating app, navigating fake flat listings, or being told it’s your last chance to get once-in-a-lifetime gig tickets, we all need to remain vigilant to the ever-evolving threat from fraud.

If that’s true for members of the public who are the target of these fraudsters, it’s equally true for the authorities trying to track them down.

In government and law enforcement, we are having to adapt our response to what has become an increasingly sophisticated international enterprise.

The latest estimates say that almost three-quarters of the fraud we experience in the UK is perpetrated by gangs based overseas. After all, if they’re trying to persuade you to transfer your money, they don’t need to be in the same town, they just need to be in contact with you online or over the phone.

So, if we are serious about tackling this threat, we must build a united, international response to meet the criminals head-on, wherever they are based.

International work on this is already well under way. The UK recently played a pivotal role in the adoption of the first ever UN resolution on fraud.

And today, when I deliver my speech to the Global Anti-Scams Alliance summit, I will announce plans for the largest ever Global Fraud Summit, to be hosted by the United Nations and Interpol next year.

That’s also why we are putting international co-operation at the heart of the new, expanded fraud strategy we are developing for the UK, as part of this government’s Plan for Change.

And whilst we are bolstering the international response to fraud, we must also stay ahead of the evolving technologies that criminals are using to exploit our defences, such as AI.

AI presents incredible opportunities for society and the world at large, including advances in healthcare, education and security. Last week, I also published an independent report showing how it could cut police paperwork and get more of our officers back out on the street where people want to see them.

But we know there are dangers as well, and just like the public at large, government must stay alert to those dangers.

Every different type of online fraud relies on persuading us that fake opportunities are real, that fake promises will be kept, that fake offers really exist. Most cruel of all, they tell us that a fake cry for help is someone who is truly in need, not someone trying to steal our money.

AI is making it easier for the fraudsters to develop convincing fakes, and that means we all need to raise our guard. But that also means government and law enforcement working more closely with business to develop a whole-system approach.

As I have repeatedly said, we need tech and telecoms companies to go further and faster to protect the public from the fraud being perpetrated via their platforms.

And we need better sharing of data, knowledge, insight and expertise to disrupt, deter and detect fraudsters and make the UK a harder target for those who seek to profit from these pernicious practices.

But each of us has a personal responsibility to make ourselves a hard target too. That’s why earlier this month we launched the second phase of the Stop! Think Fraud campaign to provide the public and small businesses with the advice they need to stay ahead of scams.

And, as the Fraud Minister, I will continue to bang this drum and urge the public to learn how best to stay protected including understanding the tactics these fraudsters use. Because anyone can fall victim.

And when fraud and cyber crime does sadly take place, we will make sure victims, including the public and businesses, are given the support they need. It will take all of us working together to defeat the fraud epidemic that is sweeping our world. And to meet that global threat head on, we must take bold, brave and creative steps to stop these criminals in their tracks, wherever they operate.

Fraud has changed. So too must our response.

NationalWorld ran the Silent Crime campaign in the autumn, urging the government to take action on so-called low-level crimes which have a huge impact on people’s lives. It ended with a delegation of readers visiting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper at the Home Office to explain what they wanted to see done to improve their community.