World leaders vow to fight fraud as Home Secretary hails 'massive step forward'
World leaders are joining forces to fight fraud, a move praised by the Home Secretary as a "massive step forward" in efforts to stop these crimes.
At a London summit, leaders from the Five Eyes intelligence partnership (the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), as well as representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, pledged to work together against fraud.
James Cleverly, who hosted the event at Lancaster House, said the purpose was to ensure that "international crime has an international response". Alongside nations standing united, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and US law enforcement bodies like the FBI and the Secret Service also promised to target scam call centres.
Asserting the importance of this agreement, Mr Cleverly said: "We've been clear that the global community needs to unite to fight fraud head on and this communique is a massive step forward." At the start of the summit, he highlighted how fraud was "evolving" and scammers were "taking advantage" of modern technology with many crimes happening online.
Despite recognising the challenges of combating fraud, Mr Cleverly maintained that their "collective efforts" will help tackle fraud effectively. Mr Cleverly reinforced the UK's dedication to tackle fraud, declaring: "We won't ever be complacent or take our eye off the ball."
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NCA director general Graeme Biggar said that fraud is one of his "biggest worries" among all the serious and organised crime threats he has to deal with in his role. He said: "That's because of the scale of the threat and the mismatch between that and our response at the moment. It is not where we need to be."
Last year, fraud made up 38% of recorded crime in the UK, affecting three million victims and costing them £2.5 billion. Interpol has warned that fraud is often carried out by organised criminal groups, including human traffickers, who force people to work in scam centres which target potential victims worldwide. A forthcoming threat assessment is expected to show a worrying increase in fraud globally.
Around 70% of fraud offences in the UK are linked to international criminals, with £3 billion lost to overseas accounts last year. As part of an international agreement, each nation recognised fraud as an "organised, transnational threat" that has become "one of the most prevalent global issues".
They agreed to follow a four-point structure to "protect citizens and target organised criminals" in an effort to fight fraud, according to the Home Office. Countries have pledged to share more intelligence and resources as part of their efforts, as well as collaborating with banks and other businesses to prevent fraud.
The communique shows an understanding that the damage caused by fraud is "devastating and universal across the world", even if the types of crime differ. The document sets a path for international law enforcement bodies to collaborate more closely, said the department.
Countries will explore ways of getting back assets that have been obtained dishonestly and giving them back to victims in different countries. Leaders are also considering using methods such as sanctions and visa bans to mess with organised crime groups.
Big tech firms including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn were at the first meeting of this kind, along with banks HSBC, NatWest and Santander, as well as other money organisations like Visa. The politicans made it clear that they expect social media companies and other online forums to do a lot more to stop fraud.
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