Lord Hanson unveils ambitious new approach to tackling fraud
Fraud Minister announces new, expanded fraud strategy will be published later this year, as part of the government鈥檚 Plan for Change.
The public and businesses will receive fresh protections from the UK鈥檚 most commonly experienced crime, the Fraud Minister Lord Hanson will announce today as he sets out plans to publish a new, expanded fraud strategy as part of the government鈥檚 Plan for Change.
The minister will detail the work underway on the new strategy, which includes proposals on working with private industry and further international co-operation, in his keynote address to the Global Anti-Scams Alliance (GASA) summit. The summit takes place today and tomorrow (Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March) at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.
The minister will say that, with the latest ONS figures finding that fraud reports increased last year by 19%, a 鈥榬obust response鈥� is required to every aspect of the fraud threat. And with estimates finding that 70% of fraud now includes an international element, global co-operation will be key to tackling this growing issue.
A key focus of the strategy will be combatting tech-enabled fraud, including emerging tech such as AI. The minister will state that getting a grip on these threats will be central to the new strategy.
But Lord Hanson will also re-emphasise the government鈥檚 commitment to harnessing the power of developing technologies, including AI, to help tackle crime and reduce the amount of time that the police and prosecutors need to spend completing paperwork rather than delivering justice. This is a key objective of the recently published Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.
As part of his keynote address, Lord Hanson will also announce plans for a Global Fraud Summit supported by the UK. The summit will be hosted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL in Vienna in early 2026 and will bring together dozens of governments from across the world to transform the global response to fraud.
With fraud and cyber crime making up 50% of all online crime in the UK, the Fraud Minister will reveal that he has instructed officials to accelerate the development of data-sharing measures to protect the public and businesses. This work, Lord Hanson will say, will take place in collaboration with law enforcement and industry to 鈥渟top, block and disrupt鈥� online harms both domestically and internationally.
The announcements also follow the second meeting of the Joint Fraud Taskforce since the new government took office and the first since the Chancellor of the Exchequer鈥檚 Mansion House speech. Together with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, the chancellor urged tech and telco companies to go further and faster to tackle fraud.
Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said:
Fraud is an increasingly international enterprise run by some of the most appalling criminal gangs operating in the world today.
That鈥檚 why we are determined to work with global partners to build a united front to tackle these criminal networks head-on, wherever they are based.
It鈥檚 also why I鈥檓 pleased to announce a new Global Fraud Summit to be held in early 2026 and that work is ongoing to develop a new, expanded fraud strategy with international co-operation at its heart, as part of this government鈥檚 Plan for Change.
Fraud has changed and so too must our response.
UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said:
Organised fraud is growing increasingly sophisticated and transnational, requiring stronger collaboration across borders and agencies.
I welcome the UK鈥檚 leadership in driving efforts to combat organised fraud and I鈥檓 proud that the UN鈥檚 Office on Drugs and Crime is partnering with INTERPOL to co-organise the Global Fraud Summit 2026 in Vienna.
This is an important opportunity to sharpen our collective response and develop innovative solutions to protect communities from this pervasive crime.
INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said:
Advances in technology, such as AI, have seen online fraud and scams grow in complexity and scale, posing a threat to individuals and organisations alike.
A unified response is essential, and these summits are an opportunity to bring the various sectors together.
We look forward to working with the UK, the UNODC and other partners to build a more effective global response.