Will the Economic Crime Act tackle the UK’s £350bn fraud issue? October 26, 2023 The government's legislation designed to tackle economic crime received royal assent today after months of back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Rishi Sunak: UK shouldn’t ‘rush to regulate’ AI despite dossier of dangers October 26, 2023 Rishi Sunak has said the UK “shouldn’t be in a rush to regulate” the development of artificial intelligence (AI) despite a dossier of potential dangers laid out by the government. The Prime Minister made a speech on the risks and rewards of the new technology at the Royal Society this morning ahead of the UK’s [...]
Fraud ‘increasing national security threat’ thanks to AI, Lord Mayor warns September 5, 2023 Fraud is increasingly a threat to “national security” as advances in artificial intelligence serve to boost the chances of scammers, the Lord Mayor has warned. Nicholas Lyons, Lord mayor of the City of London, told the International Symposium on Economic Crime in Cambridge that addressing economic crime “must be seen as a foundation for a [...]
MPs criticise government for ‘dragging feet’ over Economic Crime Bill September 5, 2023 MPs have criticised the government for “dragging its feet” over the Economic Crime Bill, after a string of measures aiming to toughen up dirty money protections were voted against or watered down. Peers had passed a series of amendments to the legislation aimed at fighting back against economic crime, fraud and illicit wealth prior to [...]
Financial crime fines fall 88 per cent globally – but agencies aren’t about to go easy on wrongdoers August 24, 2023 The total value of fines handed out to banks and financial services firms for financial crime violations slumped in the first half of this year, according to new data. But experts argued regulators aren’t going easy on wrongdoers. According to data from compliance firm Fenergo, regulators worldwide issued 97 financial crime-related fines in the first [...]
Number of fraud cases falls from pandemic highs but remains sky high at 3.5m July 20, 2023 Fraud levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels but remain sky high, according to estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The CSEW estimated that there were 3.5m cases of fraud in the year to March. This was roughly equivalent to pre-pandemic levels, with the CSEW arguing the pandemic fraud spike was not [...]
Fraud ‘epidemic’ may be even worse than figures suggest, experts warn July 4, 2023 The scale of fraud in the UK may be significantly higher than figures show, suggesting the fraud epidemic is even worse than feared, according to industry experts. Fraud has skyrocketed in recent years as a result of the rise of online payments, the pandemic and lax enforcement. Figures from UK Finance put the total lost [...]
Watchdog sets out new rules to reimburse APP fraud victims in ‘world first’ June 7, 2023 The Payment System Regulatory (PSR) has confirmed new rules that will force banks and payment companies to reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud. Following consultation, the regulator has set out how mandatory reimbursement will work in practice. It said the new rules will prompt a “step change” in how firms approach fraud prevention. [...]
‘Antiquated technology’ scuppering fraud threat response at over three quarters of retail banks June 1, 2023 Retail banks worldwide are struggling to upgrade their defences against fraud despite the increasing threat of financial crime. According to data collected for BioCatch, 78 per cent of financial firms worldwide are concerned about their ability to respond to emerging fraud threats quickly and effectively. The report revealed how lenders feel impelled to boost defences [...]
Banks must do more to tackle Post Office cash-based money laundering, warns FCA April 24, 2023 The UK’s financial watchdog “put banks on alert” as it announced a series of measures to step up the fight against money laundering through the Post Office. Tackling financial crime is a key objective for both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the government. Last month the government announced part two of its Economic Crime [...]