Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that banks respond more rapidly to reported fraud by freezing suspected scam accounts immediately pending investigation.

The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this appalling crime.

Financial institutions are required to maintain robust systems and controls to detect and prevent financial crime under the Money Laundering Regulations. Banks must report certain suspicious activity, including fraud, to the National Crime Agency under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and banks may already freeze or block accounts where suspicious activity is detected.
We introduced new rules allowing banks to delay and investigate suspicious payments for up to 72 hours. This supports interception of suspicious payments — complementing existing account‑freezing powers — by giving firms more time to prevent funds reaching fraudsters when complex cases are identified

As set out in the Fraud Strategy published on 9 March, we are now taking decisive additional action to reinforce the system‑wide response. The new Online Crime Centre will bring together law enforcement, intelligence agencies and private‑sector partners, including the financial services industry, to improve real‑time data sharing and analysis, helping firms spot suspected scam accounts sooner and act more quickly to freeze or restrict them where appropriate. Alongside this, we have launched a call for evidence on economic‑crime information sharing to remove barriers that currently prevent firms acting on intelligence earlier.

The Strategy also tasks the FCA with developing best‑practice guidance on preventing APP fraud and money‑mule activity, supporting firms to identify, investigate and close suspicious accounts more effectively, and improving protections for customers at risk.