Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential use of artificial intelligence by mobile networks operators to detect and block number-spoofing scams.

The Government recognises the threat of number-spoofing scams and thinks artificial intelligence has a key role to play in detecting and preventing telecoms fraud.

We recently published the second Telecoms Fraud Sector Charter with industry where one of the commitments is to share case studies across the sector, including with law enforcement, on where artificial intelligence has disrupted fraud. We will keep our assessment under review as the case studies develop.