Complaints about fraud and scams, current accounts and credit cards are at record highs, according to new figures published by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) today.

The service, which resolves disputes between businesses and their customers and is free for consumers, received 73,692 overall complaints between July and September 2024. In the same period in 2023/24 it reported that it received 46,716 cases.

https://ifamagazine.com/financial-ombudsman-service-sees-complaints-increase-by-more-than-50/

Millions of people have been scammed on platforms owned by tech giants since they signed a ‘world first’ pledge to do more to tackle online fraud, new Which? research has found.

The consumer association is calling on the UK government to bring forward implementation of the Online Safety Act and fines for firms that fail to stamp out online fraud, as its research reveals around 6.6 million people in the UK have lost money to online scams in the last 12 months.

https://www.techdigest.tv/2024/11/millions-scammed-online-since-tech-giants-pledged-to-tackle-fraud.html

Top financial firms, telcos, and technology leaders launch a collaborative programme in International Fraud Awareness Week to tackle financial crime across the UK.

As part of International Fraud Awareness week, 11 industry partners including BT, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Abrdn, TSB, Virgin Money, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Fujitsu, Equifax and Dudley Building Society are collaborating to launch an innovation programme focused on addressing financial crime.

FinTech Scotland, SuperTech West Midlands, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, brought together through the Innovate UK Innovation Accelerators programme, will lead the UK wide innovation call aiming from within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab to tackle financial crime challenges.

Innovators worldwide are invited to apply to join the programme by 13 January 2025.

https://www.digit.fyi/international-fraud-awareness-programme-launched/

Around five million travellers are expected to fly out of the UK for the New Year, with Christmas Day proving to be one of the most pleasant days to fly, thanks to low traffic and quieter airports.

However, with holiday scams tripling in the first half of 2024, you need to be vigilant for familiar issues like fake booking listings and phishing emails aiming to get your personal details.

The rise of AI means there is another wave of hurdles to jump over before landing on a safe holiday booking.

https://www.yourmoney.com/household-bills/international-fraud-awareness-week-how-to-dodge-festive-fraudsters-ai-holiday-scams/

NAO analysis of the impact of fraud and error on public funds shows the total has grown dramatically in the last two years.

The National Audit Office has just published our overview of the impact of fraud and error on public funds for the new parliament.

It’s aimed primarily at members of parliament to brief them on the issue of fraud and error and how government can best tackle it. We have sent it to every MP and made it available for all to read on our website.

New research from Visa reveals that more than two fifths (41%) of small-medium businesses in the UK have been a victim of fraud, with the average amount lost due to fraudsters in the last year being £3,808.

Bank account hacks (23%), billing and invoice fraud (26%) and phishing scams (24%) were the most common types reported

The survey also found that fraud can have a detrimental impact on SMEs’ ability to grow their business with consumers placing a high premium on security.

A new offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’ is a good start, but if we really want to stop this crime we need better incentives for whistleblowers, says Dr Alison Cronin

Earlier this month the government published its guidance on the new corporate ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence, from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which will come into force next year.

The Home Office deserves some credit. Unlike the attribution of corporate liability for the substantive offence of fraud itself, for which it is necessary to show that senior managers or directors were involved or knew about the fraud, the new failure to prevent offence is suitably broad. Instead of relying on just senior managers or directors, it holds large organisations to account where an employee, agent, subsidiary, or other “associated person” commits a fraud offence. Liability can be imposed where the organisation did not have reasonable procedures in place to prevent the offence and the fraudster intended to benefit: the organisation, its clients, or indeed just the fraudster themselves if their actions also benefitted the organisation.

https://www.cityam.com/to-tackle-fraud-its-time-to-start-paying-whistleblowers/

The tax agency HMRC has nearly doubled the amount paid out to those making tip-offs, the highest figure of at least the past seven years.

According to Freedom of Information data obtained by accountancy firm Price Bailey, HMRC has paid out nearly £1m for tip-offs over 2023/24, 92 per cent higher than the £508,500 paid over 2022/23.

“Protecting people must be the priority – I am warning organisations today that data protection law is not an excuse and it does not stop you sharing data that may assist with tackling fraud,” said Stephen Almond.

The UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has called on organisations across the country to share personal information responsibly to protect customers from scams and fraud.

https://www.digit.fyi/ico-data-protection-not-an-excuse-when-tackling-scams-fraud/

What are the 5 key things you need to know?

Our previous blog on this topic (found here: Fraud: ‘failure to prevent fraud' offence - KPMG UK) set out the background to the new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence contained in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“ECCTA”). As a one-line recap, this is where an organisation can be prosecuted under the ECCTA (potentially resulting in a fine) if a fraud is committed by an associated person, for the organisation’s benefit, and the organisation did not have ‘reasonable procedures’ in place to prevent the fraud.

https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/insights/2024/11/government-guidance-for-failure-to-prevent-fraud-offence.html