Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) financial regulators and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority are equipped to protect people against financial scams.

The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires regulated financial services firms to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.

HM Treasury is taking action through legislation in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which enables the Payment Systems Regulator to mandate banks to reimburse victims of authorised push payment scams. The Government expects that this legislation will result in more consistent and comprehensive reimbursement outcomes, ensuring victims are not left out of pocket through no fault of their own.

Fraud prevention is supported by wider work of the Payment Systems Regulator, including introducing Confirmation of Payee requirements on the banking sector. This allows customers to check whether the name of a payee’s account matches the name and account details provided by a payer.

The Government is also taking action to address fraudulent activity being hosted online through the Online Safety Bill. The Bill includes a new standalone duty requiring large internet firms to tackle fraudulent advertising, including of financial services.

In addition, the Home Office shortly intends to publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud, working with government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector.