Online Scams — [Peter Dowd in the Chair]

Opened the debate

Fraud and scams are the most prevalent types of crime in the UK, with 85% being cyber-enabled. The value of reported losses is £2.3 billion. Scammers use fake websites, celebrity endorsements, and social engineering techniques to target vulnerable consumers. APP scams resulted in £208 million lost in the first half of 2020, with only 40-45% of losses repaid by banks.

Government Response

May I say what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd? I thank the hon. Member for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue) for securing a debate on this important topic. I pay tribute to her general competence and knowledge on consumer issues. I have engaged with her a number of times as a Minister, and I always appreciate the constructive way she approaches this topic. She has demonstrated again this afternoon her comprehensive awareness of the complexity of this subject, and how it impacts so many of our constituents. I know very well how this issue matters to many colleagues across the House, because it has impacted so many across our constituencies. As a constituency MP, I have encountered the financial and mental impact, and the anguish it causes individuals in my surgery. I assure Members that the Government are committed to tackling this complex problem. Success in the matter depends on quite sophisticated collaboration between Government, the regulators, banks and online platforms, and between customers and the services they use. The Government are committed to playing their part to facilitate that better collaboration. Authorised push payment scams—APP scams—have become a major problem in recent years, with £456 million lost to these scams in 2019, up from £354 million the year before. We agreed that more needs to be done to ensure victims are protected through improvements to the contingent reimbursement model code and the introduction of confirmation of payee processes by banks. These measures aim to prevent scams and protect consumers. The financial services sector is just one part of the equation in combating fraud; other industries, including online platforms, have a role to play as well. The National Cyber Security Centre has been leading the way in ensuring that online scams are taken down as quickly as possible, with more than 3.6 million reports and more than 18,000 scams being removed this year through their suspicious email reporting service. We need to work on preventing scams but also look after those who fall victim to them by considering the emotional harm that victims experience and supporting their recovery and future protection against such crimes. A lot of good work is being done, but we cannot rest on our laurels as criminals continue to evolve in their methods. We are actively exploring what more can be done, and I feel very uncomfortable with this situation not being resolved.