Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to compel (a) banks, (b) utility providers, (c) large retailers and (d) public bodies, that are commonly impersonated by scammers for the purposes of defrauding the public, to publish warnings of known scams in the media and alert their customers.

The Government recognises the serious risk around fraudsters using advertising to commit some of the most harmful frauds. We are working with law enforcement and the private sector to help keep the public safe from these crimes and ensure these fraudsters have no space to operate.

We know the best way to tackle these scams is to ensure the public have all the advice and support they need to detect these frauds and avoid them. This is why we have published guidance on GOV.UK containing easy-to-follow steps and useful resources. This can be accessed here:

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

As well as this, Action Fraud, the national reporting service for all victims of fraud and cybercrime, also regularly provide fraud alerts via their website including on common and newly seen fraud schemes:

www.actionfraud.police.uk/news.

However, we continue to explore all opportunities to tackle these terrible crimes. This includes through the DCMS-led Online Advertising Programme which will be considering the role of online advertising in perpetuating some of the highest harm fraud types. This is due to be consulted on before the end of this year.