Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle covid-19- related cyber crime through false online fundraising and donation portals.

However, the Home Office remains vigilant to the ongoing risks that COVID-19 poses in terms of being used as a ‘hook’ to commit cybercrime and fraud, including through false online fund raising and donations.

The Home Office is working closely with law enforcement, private sector partners, and the third sector, to both warn businesses and the public about COVID-19 related frauds and scams and provide advice and guidance that sets out how they can protect themselves.n parallel, the Home Office is also working closely with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, who have recently issued a safety alert to charities themselves to minimise the risk of them becoming a victim of such frauds and cyber-attacks.

The Home Office is also working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to monitor fraudulent websites that are using COVID-19 related themes. In recent weeks this has led to the removal of more than 2,000 online scams related to coronavirus, including those that are fraudulently purporting to enable charitable donations.