How the New U.K. Fraud Strategy Targets Scams

The U.K. government earlier this month introduced a strategy to reduce fraud and scams called Fraud Strategy: Stopping Scams and Protecting the Public. Ken Palla, retired director of MUFG Bank, said this as an important step to combat authorized scams, which have now eclipsed unauthorized fraud.

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The U.K. government has divided its fraud strategy into three pillars – pursue fraud, block fraud and empower people. “The government recognizes that many of the scams begin with text messages, phone calls, email, social media, search engines and false advertising,” said Palla, citing a new blog by Biocatch. “So, telecommunication companies and technology firms need to be involved in the solutions to block scams, but first there will be more tracking and reporting on the patterns of fraud, and the Payment Systems Regulator will require banks to provide reporting on authorized payment fraud rates.”

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Palla discusses:

• Major highlights of the U.K. strategy;
• How the government plans to combat faster payment fraud;
• Lessons for U.S. government regulators and banks.

Palla, former director at MUFG Union Bank, helped shape the initial responses to the U.S. 2005 and 2011 FFIEC Regulatory Guidance to improve online security for U.S. banks and served as an adviser to the RSA Conference eFraud Global Forum. He is currently a member of the program committee for the annual RSA Conference in San Francisco.