9 March 2022
If you are covering the news that paid-for advert scams will be included in the Online Safety Bill, please see the following comment from Debbie Barton, financial crime prevention expert at Quilter:
“We are thrilled that after years of campaigning by us and many others, we finally have confirmation from the government that they will act on impersonation scams through concrete legislation to protect consumers.
“For far too long, scammers have been allowed to operate with impunity in an online world in which consumers have few protections. It is far too easy for scammers to steal the identity of a well-known celebrity, or impersonate the brand of a well-known financial services firm, host a website with a domain located outside the UK, and use a cheap advert to reach potentially thousands of unsuspecting individuals.
“The government wanted to just include user-generated scams, and not paid-for adverts, but this wouldn’t have been enough. In fact, it would have encouraged scammers to just pay for an advert to avoid the new legislation. Now, the legislation will cover scams from all sources. In doing so, the Bill will ensure that technology companies face a new legal duty to tackle harm caused as a result of fraudulent content on their platforms.”
