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PIMFA, the trade association for wealth management, investment services and the investment and financial advice industry, consumer rights group Which?, UK Finance, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee the Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms MP, alongside MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis and the Money and Mental Health Institute have all called for online scams to be included in the Government’s forthcoming Online Safety Bill.
Responding to the Which? research published today (23 March 2021), Liz Field, Chief Executive of PIMFA, commented:
“Our members have been reporting a growing number of highly sophisticated online scams, many of which involve website cloning. Clone website scams are often so convincing they would fool almost anyone. That makes all of us potential victims. We also know these scams are being perpetrated by organised criminals who use the money they steal from victims to fund their other activities, So, it is vital that we put in place a legal framework to prevent these criminals from exploiting vulnerability and defrauding people of their life savings, which has a devastating impact on the financial and mental wellbeing victims.
“Most online scams could be prevented and there is a real opportunity to do just that by improving consumer protections through the Government’s Online Safety Bill. Which? are right that we also need the support of Domain Name Registration service providers, online search engines and social media platforms to combat the growing threat from online scams and ensure that people feel safe online in an increasingly digital age.
“This is the reason that trade associations like PIMFA and UK Finance, consumer groups such as Which?, charities such as the Carnegie Trust UK and Money and Mental Health Policy Institute as well many MPs, have united to call for financial harm to be included within the scope of the Online Safety Bill.
“Doing so would save thousands of potential victims suffering enormous distress and would be one of the best ways to disrupt organised crime.”
