Hold tech firms to account for online scams, ministers urged

ONLINE platforms such as Facebook and Google are exposing users to an “avalanche of scams”, a consumer coalition has warned as it urged the Government to hold them to account.

The group, led by Which?, said that the tech companies played a “pivotal role” in allowing fraudsters to target victims by hosting fraudulent content.

The coalition, which also includes the police, figures from the banking and insurance industry and charities, is calling on the Government to include fraud in its upcoming Online Harms Bill.

Last year £479million was lost to

‘The biggest platforms are failing to use their sophisticated technology to protect scam victims’

bank transfer scams. Action Fraud, the police reporting service, estimates that 85 per cent of all scams in the first half of 2020 involved the internet.

Anabel Hoult, chief executive of Which?, the consumer group, said: “The biggest online platforms have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, yet they are failing to use it to protect scam victims who are suffering devastating financial and emotional harm due to the flood of fake and fraudulent content posted online.”

Google said that last year it removed or blocked 123 million financial services ads. Yesterday it said it was the first big tech company to join Stop Scams UK, a cross-industry body dedicated to tackling the issue.

Facebook said it worked to detect scams and to block fraudulent advertisers. It disabled billions of fake accounts every year, a spokesman said.