The UK government has announced an anti-fraud campaign named “Stop! Think Fraud“. The campaign’s main objective is to reduce the impact of fraud across England and Wales.
The campaign introduces an online hub, offering advice to the British public. Over the coming weeks, it aims to reach 95% of UK adults through various media, including billboards, radio, TV, and social media.
The Home Office is working with various stakeholders on the campaign, including financial institutions like Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, and Santander. In addition, digital tech giants like Google, Meta, TikTok, and X (Twitter) are also named as stakeholders.
Leading counter-fraud experts support the initiative, which aims to unify efforts against the increasing issue in the UK.
In the region, fraud currently accounts for approximately 40% of all crimes, translating to an estimated 3.2 million yearly offences.
UK Home Secretary James Cleverly called the campaign a pivotal addition to the government’s robust Fraud Strategy, emphasising its potential to “deliver for the British people.”
“This new campaign is a powerful tool to add to our arsenal, which already includes a world-first agreement from tech firms to prevent online fraud and the rollout of a National Fraud Squad that has 400 expert investigators.”
💻 Fraud costs the taxpayer an estimated £6.8 billion per year.
Our new campaign takes the fight to criminals, giving you the skills to spot fraud and protect you from its devastating impacts.
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) February 12, 2024
UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat added that the campaign would equip the public with tips to prevent fraudsters from stealing their hard-earned cash.
However, concerns were raised last month by several bank executives about the potential overlap with the industry-funded “Take Five to Stop Fraud” campaign.
The government’s announcement seems to address that, saying they will update pre-existing advice they have shared in public places and replace it with the ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ messaging and branding.
“This one clear set of advice will remove confusion, which was a risk with so many different campaigns previously existing in the same space,” it said in a statement issued today.
An advert from the ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign by the UK government.
The initiative is part of the UK government’s broader Fraud Strategy, which includes ambitious goals like reducing the crime by 10% on 2019 levels by December 2024.
The campaign has faced criticism, however. Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry pointed to a significant increase under the current government, citing this initiative as “too little, too late”.
“This new campaign ignores the £158 billion lost to fraud each year by UK businesses and does not even mention the two biggest components of those losses — procurement and payroll fraud.”
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, emphasised the need for broader measures to prevent scammers from reaching potential victims.
“The onus shouldn’t fall just on consumers to protect themselves. The government should urgently plug the gaps in fraud prevention, particularly in the telecoms, online advertising and domain sectors”.
This announcement comes as the UK prepares for the first-ever Global Fraud Summit next month and a week after an announcement to invest £100m into AI regulation and research.
