Five Eyes back UK-led action to disrupt global fraud networks

The UK is joining forces with the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to crack down on global fraud networks and protect the public from scammers.

At the Five Country Ministerial in Sydney, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and her Five Eyes counterparts backed a package of UK-led measures to strengthen the international response to fraud and online scams, bringing together governments, law enforcement and industry to tackle one of the world’s fastest-growing crimes.

The need for a more co-ordinated international response has grown as organised crime groups become increasingly sophisticated, exploiting global communications networks, digital platforms and financial systems to target victims across borders.

New measures will strengthen partners’ ability to detect and disrupt fraud before more people become victims. This includes faster intelligence-sharing to identify fraud operations spanning multiple countries, including scam centres, and coordinated action between governments, law enforcement and industry to shut down the accounts, services and communications channels criminals use to target victims and move their profits.

As part of this work, recommendations to strengthen industry action against online scams and financial crime will be developed in partnership with telecommunications providers, technology companies and financial institutions.

The focus will be on tackling vulnerabilities in systems and services that criminals exploit to target victims and move illicit funds. By improving collaboration between the public and private sectors, partners will be better able to identify new threats, respond more quickly and make it harder for criminals to profit from fraud.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said:

Fraud is a scourge on our society, ruining lives and costing victims billions of pounds every year.

Criminal gangs don’t respect borders, so our response can’t be restricted by them. By deepening international co-operation and working more closely with industry, we can track down fraudsters, disrupt their operations, and better protect the public.

Together, we must make it harder for criminals to profit from fraud and easier to bring them to justice.

Five Eyes partners also backed enhanced international support for the UK-backed INTERPOL Global Fraud Taskforce. Bringing together law enforcement, governments and industry, the taskforce will help map organised fraud networks, generate intelligence, identify links between criminal groups operating in different countries and support international operations to disrupt their activities and bring perpetrators to justice.

As a global leader in the fight against fraud, the UK is driving the international response to a crime which increasingly crosses national borders.

Earlier this year, the government committed £250 million through its new Fraud Strategy to strengthen law enforcement capabilities, tackle scams at their source and improve support for victims.