Millions scammed online since tech giants pledged to tackle fraud
Millions of people have been scammed on platforms owned by tech giants since they signed a ‘world first’ pledge to do more to tackle online fraud, new Which? research has found.
The consumer association is calling on the UK government to bring forward implementation of the Online Safety Act and fines for firms that fail to stamp out online fraud, as its research reveals around 6.6 million people in the UK have lost money to online scams in the last 12 months.
Three-quarters of those scammed online – just under five million – reported falling victim on platforms that committed to the last government’s voluntary Online Fraud Charter, which marks its first anniversary this week.
Tech companies – including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (Twitter) and YouTube – vowed to adopt “a raft of measures” to protect users from scam content. These include verifying new advertisers and promptly removing any fraudulent content.
However, Which?’s latest research suggests scammers are continuing to run rampant on their platforms.
Which? surveyed over 2,000 UK adults to find out if the charter has had an impact on the number of scams consumers encounter on online platforms and if they feel safer online in the year since the initiative started.
One in five (22%) said they had come across suspicious ads or messages every day when online in the last six months. This is likely to be several times a day for some people who are often on social media or looking up information using a search engine.
The majority of the 6.6 million who were scammed said they fell victim on social media (63%), but fraud was also common on search engines (42%), online marketplaces (39%) and messaging platforms (23%).
The most common platforms for scams were Facebook (37%), Google (33%), Instagram (20%), Amazon (18%) and WhatsApp (18%).
Tech firms that signed the charter agreed to take action within six months – but it appears online scams are still out of control. Since then, Which? has exposed scores of scam ads on social media including fraudulent ads for investments, luxury advent calendars, restaurant offers and winter fuel payments.
The ongoing prevalence of online scams has left consumers anxious and distrustful. Nearly three-quarters of UK adults (73%) said they do not trust that the ads they see on social media or search engines are genuine.
Which?’s research found the Online Fraud Charter has not made consumers feel safer online. Trust in online platforms has not improved in the year since the Charter was introduced.
A third (34%) were less likely to trust online platforms now, compared to a year ago and only three per cent felt more confident using online platforms than they did a year ago.
Says Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy:
“Our research has found that in spite of the Online Fraud Charter’s promises, fraud is still rife on online platforms in the UK – with 6.6 million losing money to online scams in the last 12 months.
“For every week the government fails to take action, we lose millions to fraudsters and organised crime groups – taking money from productive firms, reducing overall levels of investment in the UK economy and damaging consumer confidence. The government and regulators need to act urgently to tackle the fraud epidemic or risk millions more falling victim to scammers.
“Under the current timetable for the Online Safety Act, platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 – this is simply not good enough. Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner and the Fraud Minister must ensure a more coordinated approach working with regulators and the tech, banking and telecom sectors to stop the fraud epidemic.”
