Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen penalties against scammers.

As our lifestyles change and we conduct more activity online, scammers will seek to exploit our vulnerabilities. This government is committed to making this country the safest place in the world to be online. We will continue to consider all routes, including legislation, that will give law enforcement the tools they need to go after these scammers and bring them to justice. The Government also continues to explore legislation to better protect citizens online. This includes examining the role of advertising on digital platforms through the Online Advertising Programme, which will consider the role that online advertising plays in perpetuating online scams.

It is also critical that we do all we can to make sure the public are safe online from scammers in the first place. The National Cyber Security Centre last year launched its Suspicious Email Reporting Service. As of the end of January, this has already led to over 4.5 million reports and 30,000 scams removed from online. However, the best way to avoid these scams, especially around the coronavirus, is to protect yourself. The public can find details on how to stay safe online at the dedicated coronavirus fraud and cybercrime GOV.UK page.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime