The charity the Fraud Advisory Panel has launched a Corporate Membership Forum to lead activities to combat online fraud. Businesses from all sectors are welcome to join; interested companies should get in touch here.
The Forum will identify the risks posed by software that can be used to commit fraud. The Panel points to the trade association UK Finance’s figures that in the first half of 2021, businesses lost £59.2 million to online scams, an increase of 35 per cent. Most cases involve the use of software to socially engineer the victim into believing the payment instruction is genuine. As a result of its popularity during the pandemic, criminals favour remote desktop software to take over the victim’s computer and execute payments, the Panel says.
The Forum will discuss legislative developments, including the Online Safety Bill and Computer Misuse Act, engage with software developers to enhance businesses’ resilience to online threats, and offer guidance on issues such as security protocols. A cross-sector working group of business people will meet later this month to address the harm caused by online targeted fraud, and will consider:
– An increase in accountability for software providers to build security features into their products.
– The publication of the risks associated with software; and
- certification of software security features such as safety standard across material products.
