Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: "The UK is in the grip of a fraud epidemic and failings across the tech, bank and telecoms sectors are leading to millions of consumers experiencing the devastating financial and emotional impacts of this crime. "The committee is right that victims cannot wait any longer for the Online Safety Bill. If it is delayed any further then we could be waiting years for new laws to crack down on the menace of fraudulent paid-for advertising infiltrating search engines and social media platforms. "Victims of authorised push payment fraud also still face a lottery to get their money back depending on who they bank with and that's why it's vital that the Payment Systems Regulator follows through on plans to make reimbursement mandatory in all but exceptional cases. "However, the lack of a joined-up approach between different business sectors is holding back the fight against fraud and leaving consumers exposed to unscrupulous scammers. Improvements to the way banks, tech firms and telcos share vital data on scams should be a priority in the government's upcoming 10-year fraud strategy." -ENDS-
