Tackling the scourge of scammers requires a joint effort

Author: Hamish MacLeod - This article is replicated from a letter sent to the Daily Telegraph.

Online scammers are continually adapting their methods in search of new victims. Tackling this pervasive scourge requires the banks, social media companies, communications providers (telcos) and indeed customers to work together to minimise the risk and impact of online fraud.

With regards to your recent article, Mobile UK agrees with UK Finance that the priority for the telcos and others is to focus on prevention. Speaking for the telcos, I would like to highlight the huge effort being put in by them to reduce the incidence and impact of fraud.

The mobile industry is a signatory to the Home Office’s recent Sector Fraud Charter, which commits us to specific actions to tackle fraud and its consequences. For example, all operators have installed filters for their text message service, resulting, for example, in the blocking of 97% of malicious texts by one operator and the disconnection of 60,000 SIM Cards in a recent period. In further measures, mobile operators have deployed real-time checking to banks and other financial institutions to guard them against fraudulent SIM swaps or ports, and they have supported Ofcom’s Do Not Originate list of banks’ main phone numbers to identify and block calls.

The mobile industry has also put in place the implementation of the SMS SenderID Protection Registry, which brings together the UK mobile, banking and finance industries, along with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to help identify and remove fraudulent internet links and protect messages for legitimate businesses and organisations. Further, the UK’s four mobile operators have developed Number Verify for businesses that authenticates user identity for online transactions. We urge banks and financial institutions, where they have not, to sign up to these services to make their communications more secure from fraudsters.

Importantly we also urge customers to remain vigilant and to report frauds. Only through intelligence and information about fraudulent activities can we continue to adapt and take measures in the fight against fraudsters. All mobile customers can report suspicious texts or calls by forwarding them to 7726 directly from their mobile and this provides vital intelligence in the fight against fraud.

Finally, the mobile companies continue to support campaigns such as Take Five to Stop fraud, in partnership with UK Finance, to build awareness of fraud and measures customers can take to protect themselves. Fraud is a serious issue for us and mobile operators continue to invest in measures to protect customers to make it ever more difficult for scammers to operate.