Infuriating cold calls will finally be BANNED and suspicious payments paused in a bid to fight fraud
INFURIATING cold calls will finally be banned and suspicious payments paused in a bid to fight fraud, ministers will announce today.
Hundreds of fraud-fighters will be hired to help stamp out scams and stop Brits losing thousands of pounds of their hard-earned cash.
Cops will get extra cash to crack down on internet sleuths targeting vulnerable people, and cold-calling for all financial products will be outlawed as part of a new fraud strategy today.
Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with a whopping one in fifteen of us falling victim and costing £7billion every year.
Critics said the new rules were a “drop in the ocean” against vile scammers.
But ministers will water down plans to force tech firms to be liable for hosting fraudulent content on social media sites, amid fears of a slew of compensation claims.
The Online Safety Bill will put new duties on firms to get them to put systems in place – and force them to publish annual reviews on how they are doing.
Regulator Ofcom will unveil new technology to clamp down on number spoofing so fraudsters can’t impersonate UK phone numbers.
And using so-called ‘SIM farms’ to reach thousands of people at once and mass texting services will be banned.
Action Fraud will be replaced by a new National Fraud Squad with £30million in cash to slash waiting times and set up a new online portal to report their crimes.
And ministers announced a new Anti-Fraud champion to fight for consumers.
Banks will get extra powers to delay payments from being processed in order to investigate suspicious payments, giving extra time for people to claw back stolen money.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Scammers ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways in order to line their pockets.
“We will take the fight to these fraudsters, wherever they try to hide.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman added: “Fraud is a blight on our country with ruthless criminals scamming the British public out of their hard-earned cash.
“It is vital we adopt a new approach to this threat.”
But the Liberal Democrats said the “empty promises” were “too little too late”.
Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “With only one new investigator for every 9,000 cases last year, the Fraud Squad is just a drop in the ocean compared to what’s needed to protect fraud victims.
“These plans will also put even more of a burden on local police forces who are already overstretched.”
Labour’s Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry hit out: “Rishi Sunak was the Chancellor who wrote off billions in fraud committed against the Covid support schemes, and he is the Prime Minister who routinely ignores fraud when he boasts in Parliament about supposedly cutting the level of crime.
“His pledges to take fraud seriously now are as empty as they are overdue.”