Five Eyes members back UK-led action to disrupt global fraud networks

The need for a more co-ordinated international response has escalated as organised crime groups become increasingly sophisticated, exploiting global communications networks, digital platforms and financial systems in a bid to target victims across borders.

New measures will strengthen partners’ ability to detect and disrupt fraud before more people become victims. This includes faster intelligence-sharing to identify fraud operations spanning multiple countries, including scam centres, and co-ordinated action between Governments, law enforcement and industry to shut down the accounts, services and communications channels criminals use to target victims and move their profits.

As part of this work, recommendations to strengthen industry action against online scams and financial crime will be developed in partnership with telecommunications providers, technology companies and financial institutions.

The focus will be on tackling vulnerabilities in systems and services that criminals exploit to target victims and move illicit funds.

By improving collaboration between the public and private sectors, partners will be better able to identify new threats, respond more quickly and make it harder for criminals to profit from fraud.

Scourge on society

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood explained: “Fraud is a scourge on our society, ruining lives and costing victims billions of pounds every year. Criminal gangs don’t respect borders, so it follows that our response cannot be restricted by them. By deepening international co-operation and working more closely with industry, we can track down fraudsters, disrupt their operations and better protect the public.”

The Home Secretary added: “Together, we must make it harder for criminals to profit from fraud and easier to bring them to justice.”

Five Eyes partners have also backed enhanced international support for the UK-supported Interpol Global Fraud Task Force. Bringing together law enforcement, Governments and industry, the Task Force will help to map organised fraud networks, generate intelligence, identify links between criminal groups operating in different countries and support international operations to disrupt their activities and bring perpetrators to justice.

As a global leader in the fight against fraud, the UK is driving the international response to a crime which increasingly crosses national borders. Earlier this year, the Government committed the sum of £250 million through its new Fraud Strategy to strengthen law enforcement capabilities, tackle scams at their source and improve support for victims.

*Further information is available online at www.gov.uk