Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to tackle (a) online scams and (b) other cyber crime.

Fraud is designated a priority offence under the Online Safety Act (OSA), meaning companies will be held to account if they fail to remove illegal content on their platforms. This is expected to have a strong impact on some of the highest harm fraud types, such as online purchase, investment and romance scams, as well as key fraud enablers such as the recruitment and use of money mules.

However, the OSA will take time to come into force. Therefore, the Government has also created the Online Fraud Charter: a voluntary agreement bringing together the largest companies in the tech sector, who have committed to a series of actions aimed at reducing fraud on their platforms and services. The Charter was signed on 30 November, and will deliver a much quicker and more targeted response than regulation: Online Fraud Charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022-25, which is supported by £2.6 billion of investment through the National Cyber Fund.

As part of the Criminal Justice Bill, we are also introducing a new power for law enforcement and other investigative agencies to act to suspend IP addresses and domain names where they are being used for a criminal activity with a link to the UK.