BAN ON ALL COLD CALLS SELLING FINANCIAL PRODUCTS

The UK government is introducing a ban on unsolicited financial product calls in order to reduce scam activities across the country. This includes any cold call offering insurance products, cryptocurrency schemes, or other financial offerings. Furthermore, a task force of 500 staff is being established under National Crime Agency’s remit to fight fraudulent activity more effectively and quickly than before. While Labour and the Liberal Democrats believe these measures are inadequate, there's no question that action must be taken as fraud has become the leading crime in the UK with 1 in 15 people affected.

Last summer, 41 million people were targeted by suspicious calls and texts, according to media regulator Ofcom. However, most fraud now has an online element, data suggests.

The government said the blanket ban on cold calls selling financial products would cover legitimate calls as well.

This will mean that “anyone who receives a call trying to sell them products such as cryptocurrency schemes or insurance will know it’s a scam”, it said.

Exactly which financial products will be covered will be decided after a consultation, with the ban expected to be brought in this summer.

In addition, the government said:

• So-called “Sim Farms”, where people use a large number of Sim cards to send text messages in bulk, will be banned

• Intelligence services and police will work with overseas partners to shut down call centres engaged in fraud

• Advertising campaigns will warn people about the risk of scam calls

• There will be new measures to tackle phone number “spoofing”, where scammers alter Caller ID information to make calls look genuine.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said online that the new rules will tackle “cold-hearted” scammers who “ruin lives in seconds.”

He said these scams fund “organised crime and terror”.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE’

But the Labour Party’s shadow attorney general, said the plans ignored “the tens of billions being lost to fraud against businesses and the government, and relies on estimates of the cost of fraud to members of the public that are seven years out of date”.