Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what regulatory mechanisms are in place to help consumers verify the legitimacy of communications from (a) banks, (b) energy providers and (c) telecommunications companies to help prevent scams.

Although the Department of Business and Trade does not directly regulate these sectors, Companies House and the Insolvency Service supply data on UK registered companies to assist law enforcement targeting online fraud and other economic crimes. Furthermore, through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we raise awareness about how to spot, avoid and report scams.

Across Government, the Home Office works with Ofcom to prevent phone number ‘spoofing’, which is the practice of scammers impersonating UK phone numbers to trick people into thinking they are speaking to legitimate businesses.