AI threat at heart of fresh strategy to tackle fraud
Fraud minister Lord Hanson will announce work on an expanded fraud strategy to be published later this year.
Tackling threats from artificial intelligence will play a key role in the Government’s updated strategy to combat fraud.
New proposals covering data sharing, evolving threats from new technology and international co-operation will be included in the strategy, which is due to be published later this year as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
Working with private industry, tackling fraud against businesses, public awareness and victim support will also be included, according to the Home Office.
“Fraud has changed and so too must our response,” said fraud minister Lord Hanson, who will outline proposals in a speech to the Global Anti-Scams Alliance summit, which takes place in London on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Fraud is an increasingly international enterprise run by some of the most appalling criminal gangs operating in the world today.
“That’s why we are determined to work with global partners to build a united front to tackle these criminal networks head-on, wherever they are based.”
He will say accelerating the development of data-sharing measures will “stop, block and disrupt” online harms, while using developing technologies will reduce the time police and prosecutors spend on paperwork.
The minister will also announce “the UK’s leadership” in a global fraud summit hosted by Interpol and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna in 2026.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics said consumer and retail fraud reports increased by 19% in the year to June 2024 with fraud and cyber offences making up 50% of all online crime in the UK.
