The United Kingdom cracks down on crypto and wire fraud

The United Kindgom government has announced plans to decrease fraudulent activity with a new anti-fraud strategy.

According to a Bloomberg report, wire fraud is one of the most common types of crime in the United Kingdom with a reported 1 in 15 people calling prey to the crime. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak weighed in on the matter, noting that the government intend to “take the fight” to the fraudsters:

“Scammers ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways in order to line their pockets. We will take the fight to these fraudsters, wherever they try to hide.” 

To combat the criminal activity, the government is aiming to put a ban on cold calls which sell financial products. This will include cryptocurrency and digital assets, insurance services, and other financial services. Sunak also noted that the government will be reviewing mass text firms to prevent services from being used by criminals and malicious entities.

The aim of the crackdown is to reduce fraudulent attempts and money lost to telephonic scammers. According to the National Crime Agency, fraudsters take nearly £7 billion from the country per year.

The new anti-fraud strategy will see the introduction of 400 new jobs in the policing department, with a focus on intelligence methods. The government will partner up with the Office of Communications (known as “Ofcom”) to introduce a new technological approach that will combat fraudsters from impersonating authorities through legitimate United Kingdom numbers.

The United Kingdom has historically tried to rid crypto scams from the country. The country’s Financial Conduct Authority recently changed requirements for all companies that operate in crypto activity. The new mandate states that crypto-focused companies need to register with the FCA to ensure all products and services operate within the parameters of the Financial Services and Markets Act rules for the digital assets market.