02 February 2022
If you are covering the Treasury Committee’s report on Economic Crime, please see the following comment from Matt Burton, chief risk officer at Quilter:
“Fraud and economic crime are swiftly rising up the political agenda. Lord Agnew’s resignation over Covid loan fraud last week has focused minds in government on the fact that scammers can often act with impunity, as if the rules don’t apply to them. The Treasury Committee’s report today is extremely welcome and will help push the government to act harder and faster on the growing fraud epidemic.
“Once again, the message to government is clear. Fraud via online advertising must be considered as part of the Online Safety Bill, and should be considered ‘priority illegal content’. As a result, online content providers, including search engines and social media sites, will have a legal duty to remove suspected scam posts and scam ads swiftly.
“Ultimately, it is the technology companies with the technology and capability to identify scams using automated methods, and not individuals. It’s about time that the balance of responsibility was shifted towards the tech companies. As part of this, Know Your Customer checks could be a crucial way of preventing scammers from accessing search engines and social media in the first place.
“Online platforms won’t take deterrents seriously until they have a financial incentive to do so, and that has to come from compensation. It’s good to see the Committee recommend the government seriously consider whether online companies are required to contribute compensation when fraud is conducted on their platforms.”
Matt’s tips for dodging online impersonation scammers
- Check the FCA’s register: Whenever you consider an investment opportunity, you should check the FCA’s register to make sure you are dealing with a real financial services firm. An FCA registration number will be listed which you can use to verify that the firm is real.
- Check the FCA’s warning list: The list is updated daily and provides a record of every clone firm scam identified so you can check whether there have been any cases of impersonation fraud with the firm in question.
- Consider how you were contacted: If you have been contacted by phone, email or text out of the blue without even looking for an investment then it’s highly likely it is a scam.
- Be wary of investment comparison sites: Be wary of sites that try to get your attention by using an advert on a search engine and that asks you to input your details. You have no control over where your details go, and to whom they are sold.
- Be wary if there’s a celebrity endorsement: Scammers like to use trusted individuals such as Martin Lewis to catch people’s attention and give the perception that the investment is a no-brainer. More often than not these endorsements are completely fictitious, and in Martin Lewis’ case completely fictitious as he has said he would never provide his image for any advert.
- Check for the little details: Look for any unexpected words in domain names, email addresses or in brochures. If you receive an email from someone, check exactly who it has come from. If it’s a scam, the email address may be filled with random numbers or be misspelled. There could be even more subtle additions, including words relating to finance or even one letter added or amended, which can be very easily missed.
- If it’s too good to be true: It is said often, but if something looks too good to be true then it probably is. A rate of return considerably above the market rate with promises of guaranteed interest should set alarm bells ringing.
