Telecoms industry trade association Comms Council UK (CCUK) has announced a collaboration with National Trading Standards (NTS) to bolster fraud detection and prevention.
The move comes amid a surge in scam texts and calls, with 82% of UK adults saying they have been contacted by potential scammers, according to CCUK.
The new initiative enables CCUK’s members – telecoms companies that provide services to business and residential customers – to share information on fraudulent behaviour more easily both within the CCUK membership and with relevant industry stakeholders.
Members are invited to share reports of potential misuse with the NTS Scams Team, making it easier to take action against such activity.
According to Louise Baxter MBE, Head of the NTS Scams Team, “Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and inventive in finding ways to scam or defraud individuals and businesses via calls, messaging and texts. I believe that our experience in managing such scenarios for other industries, combined with the wealth of information held within CCUK’s membership, will stand us in good stead to greatly reduce fraudulent activity in the telecoms sector. We are delighted with this partnership.”
CCUK believes that by participating in the initiative, telecoms companies can not only save victims from substantial financial losses, but ‘help rebuild trust in telephone calls’.
Tracey Wright, Chair of CCUK, said: “We are delighted to be working with National Trading Standards Scams Team on this initiative, which is both incredibly timely and necessary. There is no single solution to resolve the great challenge which fraud presents to our industry, but it is essential that we take a proactive approach. The telecoms sector has a key role to play in implementing greater reporting and analysis of fraud, which will provide a solid foundation to promptly and effectively reduce criminal behaviour executed through telephone calls.”
CCUK will host its inaugural Fraud Summit on 5 March 2025 at One Birdcage Walk in London, bringing together representatives from the telecoms and banking sectors, as well as regulators, law enforcement bodies, and civil servants to share insights on how to tackle fraud effectively.
