Online fraud is on the rise and according to the consumer champion, Which?, organisations are not doing enough to stamp it out. With millions of people getting scammed on platforms owned by tech giants, Which? has called on the government to bring forward the implementation of the Online Safety Act.
According to Which? research, 6.6 million people have lost money in the UK to online scams in the last 12 months. Three-quarters of those scammed online – just under five million – reported falling victim on platforms that committed to the last government’s voluntary Online Fraud Charter, which marks its first on year anniversary this week.
Major tech companies vowed to adopt “a raft of measures” to protect users from scam content, including verifying new advertisers and promptly removing any fraudulent content. Some of the firms that agreed to the charter include:
- Amazon
- Snapchat
- Tiktok
- X (Twitter)
- YouTube
However, Which?’s latest research suggests scammers are continuing to run rampant on their platforms.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy said: “Our research has found that in spite of the Online Fraud Charter’s promises, fraud is still rife on online platforms in the UK – with 6.6 million losing money to online scams in the last 12 months.
“For every week the government fails to take action, we lose millions to fraudsters and organised crime groups – taking money from productive firms, reducing overall levels of investment in the UK economy and damaging consumer confidence. The government and regulators need to act urgently to tackle the fraud epidemic or risk millions more falling victim to scammers.”
Making a dent in fraud
Which? surveyed over 2,000 UK adults to find out if the charter has had an impact on the number of scams consumers encounter on online platforms and if they feel safer online in the year since the initiative started.
One in five (22 per cent) said they had come across suspicious ads or messages every day when online in the last six months. This is likely to be several times a day for some people who are often on social media or looking up information using a search engine.
The majority of the 6.6 million who were scammed said they fell victim on social media (63 per cent). However, fraud was also common on search engines (42 per cent), online marketplaces (39 per cent) and messaging platforms (23 per cent).
The most common platforms for scams were:
- Facebook (37 per cent)
- Google (33 per cent)
- Instagram (20 per cent)
- Amazon (18 per cent)
- WhatsApp (18 per cent)
Creating a lack of trust
Tech firms that signed the charter agreed to take action within six months but it appears online scams are still out of control. Since then, Which? has exposed scores of scam ads on social media including fraudulent ads for investments, luxury advent calendars, restaurant offers and winter fuel payments.
The ongoing prevalence of online scams has left consumers anxious and distrustful. Nearly three-quarters of UK adults (73 per cent) said they do not trust that the ads they see on social media or search engines are genuine.
Which?’s research found the Online Fraud Charter has not made consumers feel safer online. Trust in online platforms has not improved in the year since the Charter was introduced.
A third (34 per cent) were less likely to trust online platforms now, compared to a year ago and only three per cent felt more confident using online platforms than they did a year ago.
It is clear that online fraud is still rife and the consumer champion is concerned there is a lack of urgency from the government and regulators to properly tackle the fraud epidemic.
Bring forward the Online Safety Act
The Online Safety Act must be implemented in full as soon as possible or the government risks letting criminals target millions more people. The current timetable – which suggests the platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 – is simply not good enough according to Which?.
Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner. Which? expresses that Lord Hanson, the Fraud Minister, must ensure that the government ends the fragmented approach to fraud prevention and leads a more coordinated approach across the tech, banking and telecoms sectors to better protect consumers from fraudsters.
Concha adds: “Under the current timetable for the Online Safety Act, platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 – this is simply not good enough. Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner and the Fraud Minister must ensure a more coordinated approach working with regulators and the tech, banking and telecom sectors to stop the fraud epidemic.”
The post Online Fraud Charter Hasn’t Had Desired Impact: 6.6mil UK Adult Fall Victim to Fraud Finds Which? appeared first on The Fintech Times.
