To bring a stop to the astronomical increase in crime, the United Kingdom is planning to place a ban on cryptocurrency, insurance, and other financial cold calls. The government is already planning a lot of collaboration to help them halt crime related to cold calls.
One of their planned partnerships is to use the services of the telecoms regulator, the Office of Communications, to crack down on phone numbers still engaging in cryptocurrency cold calls and other similar actions. They would also prevent phone number "spoofing." When the U.K. government does this, it will prevent those not living in the U.K. from using a legitimate U.K. phone number.
According to the National Crime Agency, fraud costs the private sector a whopping £140 billion yearly. The public industry loses more than £40 billion due to fraud annually. Finally, individuals in the United Kingdom lose more than £7 billion yearly from fraud-related crimes.
"Victims of fraud range across vulnerable individuals, major corporations, smaller businesses, and the public sector. The 2017 Annual Fraud Indicator estimates fraud losses to the U.K. at around £190 billion every year, with the private sector hit hardest, losing around £140 billion. The public sector may be losing more than £40 billion and individuals around £7 billion," the report from the National Crime Agency said.
The U.K. Government Setting Up Measures to Combat Fraud
Banning cold calling is one of the measures the U.K. government is setting up to reduce the country's crime rate. In addition, the government is also setting up 400 new jobs to update its approach to intelligence-led Policing. Since wire fraud is also topping the list of fraud-related crimes, the U.K. government has also set a measure to reduce its effects. Those who are victims of wire fraud would receive compensation from the financial institution they are banking with.
For cryptocurrency cold calls, the U.K. government is enforcing strict regulations for crypto firms operating in the country. Crypto firms operating in the U.K. will receive a more rigorous verification and licensing process before legally working there. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already set up rules that would make it incredibly hard for new crypto firms to get their license in the country. Those who manage to get one would operate under strict regulations.
The National Crime Agency has also pledged that it would be collaborating with many other agencies in their bid to help stop rising fraud in the country. They would collaborate with agencies like the Serious Fraud Office, the City of London Police (lead police force for a copy), and Metropolitan Police Service.
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"We work with partners from across the public, private and third sectors to pursue serious and organized fraudsters, make individuals and businesses more resilient to fraud and other economic crimes, and, wherever possible, return funds to victims," they stated.
The U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly said that he would ensure that the country's fraud rate reduces. He noted that scammers "ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways to line their pockets."