Priti Patel is to launch a crackdown on crooks who send scam text messages

Priti Patel today launches a crackdown on fraudsters, including a plan to tackle the plague of scam text messages.

The initiative aims to correct the shocking neglect suffered by fraud victims, some of whom lose their life savings.

Industry leaders will develop technology to entrap fraudsters who send fake texts. The system will involve telecoms companies, police, banks and the National Cyber Security Centre.

The Joint Fraud Taskforce, set up five years ago, will also be taken back under direct Home Office control and led by security minister Damian Hinds.

It came as regulator Ofcom revealed yesterday that more than eight out of ten people – an estimated 44.6 million adults in the UK – received a suspicious message in the form of a text, recorded message or live phone call over the last three months.

Home Secretary Miss Patel said: ‘The Joint Fraud Taskforce will bring together key business leaders to work in partnership to protect the public and tackle this cowardly crime.’

The retail banking sector, telecoms and accountancy industries have signed three new charters committing to strengthening action against fraud, which rocketed by 24 per cent during Covid.

The Home Office said the new action plan was ‘a first-of-its-kind agreement between private sector companies and the government to protect people’s hard earned cash’.

Banks have agreed to improve the help they offer to fraud victims under the new charters.

They will also draw up new plans on how to respond to data breaches, which can lead to people’s contact details being accessed by fraudsters.

Other new initiatives include a pilot scheme to introduce new verification steps on direct debits for phone and broadband accounts that have been used for fraud.

Signatories of the charters include all major high street banks, 12 accountancy bodies and major telecoms firms including BT, EE, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone.

The initiative aims to correct the shocking neglect suffered by fraud victims, some of whom lose their life savings (file image)

David Postings, chief executive of industry body UK Finance, said: ‘Protecting customers from fraud and stopping stolen money getting into the hands of criminals is an absolute priority for the banking industry.

‘Banks are fighting fraud on every front, but the sector can’t stop all fraud on its own.

‘Only by working together with other key industries and government can we combine our powers to make the UK a safe place to do business.”

Earlier this month a report by the Victims’ Commissioner said hundreds of thousands of fraud victims suffer ‘profound’ effects after being targeted.

The official victims’ watchdog Dame Vera Baird revealed for the first time that there are 700,000 hardest-hit fraud victims a year in England and Wales – including many elderly people.

Shockingly, only two per cent of all police resources are dedicated to combatting fraud, even though it accounts for 39 per cent of reported criminal offences.

Dame Vera slammed police forces’ response to the crime as ‘extremely disappointing’.

The Ofcom report also found that suspicious calls continue to be a threat for landline users, with older people particularly susceptible.

Just over six out of 10 over-75s reported receiving a potential scam call to their landline.

The majority ignored the scams, but two per cent – equivalent to almost a million people – said they had followed the instructions in a scam message or call.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s networks and communications group director, said: ‘Criminals who defraud people using phone and text scams can cause huge distress and financial harm to their victims, and their tactics are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

‘Stay alert to any unsolicited contact. Put the phone down if you have any suspicion that it is a scam call, and don’t click on any links in text messages you’re unsure about. Report texts to 7726 and scam calls to Action Fraud or Police Scotland.’