09 April 2023 , 23:01
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Labour has pledged to crackdown on scam calls from overseas and vowed to strike a "crucial blow against the parasites" benefiting from fraud.
Previous research by Ofcom - the communication's regulator - suggested that 45million had been on the receiving end of potential scam texts or calls in the summer of 2021 alone.
In a letter to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry demanded immediate action on the "fraud epidemic that has swept our country in recent years".
Based on the latest trends, Labour claims that in the five months since Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman promised action on fraud an estimated 1.5million offences will have been committed - or a stagerring 10,000 per day.
"That is the current reality of Britain's most commonly experienced crime," she said.
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Ms Thornberry stressed that for some people, including pensioners, the crime is "destroying everything they have worked for all their lives".
Emily Thornberry has vowed to strike a 'crucial blow against the parasites' benefiting from fraud (Getty Images)"And yet the parasites who are stealing their wages and savings simply move on to their next round of victims with near total impunity".
Focusing on scam calls, Ms Thornberry is proposing today the "most stringent controls possible" with two new rules.
These include ensuring no phone call made abroad using a UK number should have that number displayed when it appears on a UK mobile or landline.
The party also wants to enforce a block on overseas calls using a British number unless the network provider confirms the user is roaming.
In her letter, Ms Thornberry expresses her "sense of horror" at watching the BBC series 'Scam Interceptors' with the "sheer size, sophistication and ruthlessness of the global scamming industry, and its disproportionate targeting of UK households".
She added: "We can make it not just more difficult for overseas gangs to continue using UK numbers for their scams, but near impossible.
"This would be just one step of the many we need to take to tackle Britain’s fraud crisis, but it has the potential to be a vitally important one, striking a crucial blow against the parasites who run this industry, and offering better protection to millions of people in our country.
"If you agree, the Labour Party stands ready to work with you and with Ofcom on making it a reality."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "This government is absolutely committed to cracking down on fraud and we continue to intensively work with partners across government, law enforcement and industry to protect the public.
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“We have committed £400 million over the next three years to bolster law enforcement’s response to economic crime, and have introduced the Online Safety Bill and the Financial Services and Markets Bill to block fraud at the source and improve the reimbursement of victims.
“To drive the system we will shortly publish our Fraud Strategy. This sets out a co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters.”