UK Bank Launches ‘Great British Fraud Fightback’ To Help Tackle Online Crime

Following the news that leading UK bank Barclays has launched a £10m nationwide initiative to spread awareness about financial fraud risks, dubbed the ‘Great British Fraud Fightback’. The bank hopes to boost the protection of digital identities of Britons through the dissemination of information, tools and tips. The digital safety drive launchedon Monday (8 May) marks the first attempt by a high street bank to enable their customers to assume full control over how their debit cards would operate. Customers would be able to use the Barclays mobile banking app to instantly enable or disable remote purchases and set their daily ATM withdrawal limits. Robert Capps, VP of Business Development at NuData Security commented below.

Robert Capps, VP of Business Development at NuData Security:

 “It’s reassuring to see an organisation like Barclays launch such an extensive initiative. I’m hopeful that this is a signal of change in attitude toward online crime and fraud, heralding a growing acknowledgment of the impacts and scale of crime committed online.  Anything that will help prioritise cybercrime in the UK, and demand more resources to counter such an existential threat to consumers and businesses that transact online, will be a vast improvement over what we have today. Provided these funds are spent judiciously, the fact that Barclays is saying they are investing £10m in fighting fraud is a step forward.

All forms of identity fraud are appallingly high in the UK, with 1 in 10 people now a victim of fraud or online offences. The UK ranks 7th highest overall in the world for cybercrime, a statistic it shares with the likes of India, in this country by country comparison compiled by Forbes. Fraud accounted for 5.8 million incidents in England and Wales by the end of March 2016, and 3.8 million of those were related to bank and credit card fraud. Unless the UK would like to see these rates climb ever higher, and the damage inflicted on the public continue to grow, institutions, governments, and private companies must take these threats as seriously as other forms of crime.

Solutions are available now in the marketplace that can help alleviate much of this type of cyber fraud. Organisations that transact online, such as banks, e-commerce stores, gaming and other vendors can take a more nuanced approach to authentication by evaluating as much contextual information about customer interactions as possible to determine if it truly is the right user presenting themselves (valid credentials or not). Passive biometrics and behavioural analytics technology can distinguish good from bad users even when new devices and correct stolen credentials are used because they rely on a different set of keys – consumer behaviour. Removing the value of stolen credentials from the hands of criminals can rebalance the online identity proofing environment for consumers and organisations.”