LONDON – Eleven of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Amazon.com, Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft, will sign an agreement with the British government on Thursday to step up their efforts to tackle online fraud, the Home Office said.
Under the ‘Online Fraud Charter’, to be signed at a meeting chaired by Home Secretary James Cleverly in London, the companies will pledge to take further steps to block and remove fraudulent content from their websites, the government said.
In addition to Amazon, Google and Microsoft, the voluntary agreement will be signed by eBay, Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, Microsoft’s LinkedIn, Match Group, Snap’s Snapchat, ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube, with the companies pledging to implement the measures that apply to them within six months.
“Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with online fraudsters targeting the most vulnerable in society,” said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement.
“By joining forces with these tech giants, we will continue to crack down on fraudsters and make sure they have nowhere to hide online.”
The measures include providing simple and quick ways to report fraudulent material, and working closely with law enforcement in their efforts to target fraudsters.
The companies will also commit to increased levels of verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces, while people using online dating services will be given the opportunity to prove they are not scammers.
According to the UK government, fraud accounts for around 40% of all crime in England and Wales, with data from industry body UK Finance showing that almost 80% of all authorised push payment fraud originates online.