techUK members donate $1 million to Take Five campaign to tackle fraud

15 Sep 2021 11:00 AM

Tech companies join banking industry to tackle fraud

As statistics show 80% of 18-34 year olds find it difficult to say ‘no’ to strangers on the phone in fear of being rude, major technology companies, including techUK members Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft and TikTok, have today pledged to support the Take Five campaign, run by UK Finance, the collective voice for the finance and banking industry. 

The techUK members involved are collectively donating $1 million worth of advertising to the campaign which will help publicise the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice to consumers and enable it to reach a significant proportion of the online population. 

Take Five to Stop Fraud is a national campaign that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations. The campaign is delivered with and through a range of partners in the UK payments industry, financial services firms, law enforcement agencies, telecommunication providers, commercial, public and third sector organisations – and now technology companies and techUK. 

This pledge of support flows from the work of a recently established Online Fraud Steering Group, which brings together representatives from the technology and banking industries and law enforcement to work together to tackle fraud. Increasing consumer awareness about the types of fraudulent activity online is an important part of this collaboration.

Julian David, CEO techUK said:

“Tackling fraud and ensuring customer safety is a major on-going priority for tech companies. Support for the Take Five campaign builds on years of investment and activity to tackle cyber threats including online fraud.

The support by major tech companies for the Take Five campaign is part of a collaborative and innovative whole-system approach to tackling online fraud. This pledge of support will help the Take Five campaign reach an even wider audience and ensure consistency of messaging across the technology, banking and finance industries.”

David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said:

“Fraud poses a major threat to the UK and criminals are continuing to find new ways to target people with online scams.

“Tackling fraud is an absolute priority for the banking and finance industry, but it’s one that requires work across different sectors of the economy. We are delighted that these major technology companies have agreed to support the work of Take Five as part of our collaborative approach to tackling fraud. The advertising that is being provided will enable Take Five to reach a wider audience and is an important step in our efforts to help consumers stay protected from fraud and scams.” 

This announcement coincides with Take Five week, a week dedicated to highlighting the work of the campaign that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. 

For more information and advice on how to protect yourself visit https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk  

Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment. Stop and think. It could protect you and your money.  

Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.  

Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse, or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.