Barclays found that eight in 10 (76%) Brits feel unsafe on social media due to scammers operating on these platforms. However, as it stands at the moment, it’s down to banks to reimburse scam victims, not social media platforms where the scams originate.

Scams up the up

Scams have surged by 24% in the last quarter, compared to the same time last year, according to Barclays. Purchase scams, where people buy goods which never arrive or aren’t as advertised are the most common, accounting for two-thirds (66%) of all scams.

Investment scams, where you’re invited to invest in something that’s worthless or doesn’t exist, have resulted in the greatest losses, making up almost a third (30%) of all money lost to scammers, despite accounting for just 5% of scam cases.

Tackling the surge in scams

Barclays has announced four major policy recommendations to tackle the spread of scams.

First, it wants to bring together a cross-Government group within the Home Office with the ability to co-ordinate regulators, policy makers, industry groups, and companies across different sectors to effectively fight scams.

Second, it wants to make the prevention of scams mandatory, particularly for tech companies, instead of the voluntary measures currently proposed by the government.

Third, Barclays is calling for Ofcom to make it mandatory for organisations to publish their scams data to inform consumers of the risks involved in using their platforms.

It also says the Payment Systems Regulator should make payment service providers publish their data on the sources of scams. This should be in addition to the data that these organisations, including banks, are already required to publish.

Finally, Barclays is calling for a victim reimbursement fund to be set up. It said this should be financed by all firms whose systems and platforms are used to perpetrate scams, including tech companies and banks.

Stopping scams at source

Matt Hammerstein, CEO of Barclays UK, said: “Our data shows that tech platforms – particularly social media – are now the source of almost all scams. However, there is no current legislative or regulatory framework obliging the tech sector to support the prevention of these crimes, as there rightly is for banks.

“Barclays’ policy recommendations aim to tackle the nation’s scams epidemic by ensuring that organisations with the power to prevent scams are working together far more effectively.

“Without the joint help of tech organisations, the Government, and regulators, we risk enabling the unchecked growth of what is now the most common crime in the UK, hurting countless individuals, and costing our economy billions each year.

“We can only drive back this epidemic – and protect UK competitiveness – by stopping scams at their source, preventing the flow of funds to organised crime.”