A group of financial services institutions and communications service providers, brought together by consumer advocacy organization Which?, are urging the new Labour government to prioritize the fight against digital fraud. They are supporting a new commitment to data sharing that they believe will help in the battle against fraud.
Barclays, BT, Mobile UK, Nationwide, NatWest, Starling Bank, Three, UK Finance, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone have all signed a call for ministers to take the lead in enabling businesses to share intelligence to detect fraud and protect the public.
According to Which? policy and advocacy director Rocio Concha, fraud is a significant problem for consumers, causing both financial and emotional harm. The group of companies believes that sharing fraud intelligence is essential to stay ahead of criminals, especially organized fraudsters.
The coalition is calling for central government leadership to facilitate data sharing, as they believe that current efforts are not collaborative enough. They want to work together to improve defenses and keep customers safe, but are facing barriers such as concerns about data protection regulations and competition.
The coalition members are ready to join a taskforce led by the government to share fraud data and implement secure technical solutions to prevent fraud. They warn that without government intervention, the fight against fraud will be slow and costly in a fast-moving environment where criminals are quick to exploit vulnerabilities.