UK urged to lead ‘cross-border war’ against fraudsters as billions lost
In a new report, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) estimated that 21 per cent of adults globally have been victims of fraud in the last three years.
The government has been urged to lead a “cross-border war” against fraudsters to help tackle a problem which is costing the UK economy tens of billions.
In a new report, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) estimated that 21 per cent of adults globally have been victims of fraud in the last three years.
In that period £168bn fell into the hands of fraudsters, the survey showed. Including the wider social costs, the SMF estimated that fraud was costing the global economy £420bn.
The report, which is the first of its kind, surveyed 28,000 people across 15 different countries in an attempt to get a handle on the size of the problem.
In the UK alone, the SMF estimated that 10m Britons suffered from fraud between 2021 and 2023, costing the economy around £16bn.
The government has published a strategy to deal with the fraud epidemic, but the SMF urged ministers to co-operate internationally to deal with the problem.
“Any nation acting alone remains ill-equipped to deal with today’s fraudsters, who can operate from anywhere and claim a victim thousands of miles away,” Richard Hyde, senior researcher at SMF said.
Across the countries polled, there was agreement that digital platforms as well as banks should have a responsibility for compensating fraud victims.
According to the survey, 94 per cent of people thought banks had a responsibility to compensate fraud victims, compared to 88 per cent for digital platforms and 84 per cent for telecoms and internet providers.
The report called for new legal duties to be introduced for firms across the ‘fraud chain’ to “prioritise fraud prevention and bear relevant costs”.
Recent research from UK Finance showed that 70 percent of Authorised Push Payment scams (APPs) originate on online platforms.
Before the election, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “tech giants do little or nothing” to help reimburse victims, suggesting they needed to have a “clear obligation” to tackle fraud.
However, there has been no news on the government’s fraud plans since the election.
Stephen White, chief operating officer at Santander UK, said: “We need renewed focus on tackling the fraudemic across Government, banks, and the global technology and communication companies that connect criminals with potential victims”.
