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01 Dec 2023

Leading the Charge Against Fraud: techUK Works to Deliver New Online Fraud Tech Charter 

Over the last six months techUK has been working with techUK members and the Government on a new Online Fraud Charter which was finally signed yesterday. The Charter, is a ground-breaking initiative setting out commitments from techUK members including: Amazon, eBay, Google, Linkedin, Match Group, Meta, Tiktok and X, that was developed in collaboration with the Home Office and No.10 Downing Street. 

techUK led the industry’s work, as the representative of the sector, in developing the charter. We negotiated closely with the Prime Minister’s Anti-Fraud Champion Anthony Browne MP and the Home Office to deliver a Charter that collaboratively tackles fraud. After six months of detailed discussions, the Charter was officially signed at Lancaster House yesterday, at a ceremony led by the Home Secretary James Cleverley MP.  

The charter, which is a voluntary commitment, is an important step forward from the commitment first made in the Fraud Strategy published earlier in the year. It unites techUK members with the Government, to clamp down on fraud taking place online. signals a collective effort to implement comprehensive measures tailored to the respective services over the next six months.  

With fraud being the most common crime in the UK, techUK members have been proactively working to address this issue. The Charter signals closer working between the industry, government and law enforcement. In addition to clamping down on scam posts, members have also committed to working more closely with law enforcement in their efforts to target fraudsters. Charter signatories will run direct routes for law enforcement to report suspicious activity, making it easier to quickly identify and remove fraudulent content and protect users. 

Members have also agreed to continue expanding measures to help protect people from fraud and scam content when using their sites. Actions include verifying new advertisers, blocking fraudulent material and horizon scanning on evolving fraud threats. The Charter also highlights increased levels of verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces, as well as people using online dating services having the opportunity to prove they are who they say they are. 

The Charter has brought about commitments in a total of nine different areas, to continue comprehensively tackling fraud. These are: 

  1. Blocking- Deploying measures to detect and block fraudulent material 

  1. Reporting- Having a simple and quick route to report fraudulent material 

  1. Takedowns- Taking action against fraudulent content and users straight away 

  1. Advertising- Deploying measures to protect people from fraudulent adverts 

  1. Law Enforcement- Having dedicated liaisons who will respond to law enforcement requests 

  1. Intelligence Sharing- Engaging with initiatives to quickly share information about frauds 

  1. Transparency- Providing information about fraud risks and what is being done to address them 

  1. Comms- Delivering simple messaging to support the public to recognise and avoid online fraud 

  1. Horizon Scanning- Contributing to horizon scanning exercises to stay ahead of the threat 

On signing the Charter, techUK’s Deputy CEO Antony Walker said “We are pleased to have worked at pace with the government in the development of the Online Fraud Charter which will improve the coordination of actions by tech firms to tackle online fraud. 

“The Charter builds on measures that tech firms already have in place to defend against online fraud and will enable better and more consistent cooperation between the private sector, government and law enforcement. 

“The nature of online fraud is constantly evolving and tech companies are continually adapting and improving their approaches to combat this criminal activity.” 

The Tech Charter follows a stream of work techUK and our members are already undertaking to tackle fraud. techUK has been co-chairing the Online Fraud Group, alongside UK Finance and NECC for over two years, which has seen actions such as the FCA authorisation process and the Take five campaign. 

To find out more about techUK’s work on fraud and economic crime, see here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/online-fraud-steering-group-techuk-uk-finance-the-necc-collective-efforts-to-combat-fraud.html 

To get involved in techUK’s members Online Fraud Working Group, see here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/join-the-new-techuk-fraud-working-group.html 

 

Antony Walker

Antony Walker

Deputy CEO, techUK

Neil Ross

Neil Ross

Associate Director, Policy, techUK

 

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