Cifas responds to the Online Safety Bill recommendations

Responding to the Joint Committee's report on the Draft Online Safety Bill,  Mike Haley, Chief Executive at Cifas, said:

‘Cifas welcomes the recommendation for the inclusion of paid-for ads in the Online Safety Bill as this is an important step in making the UK a safer place to be online. Fraud in the UK has reached epidemic levels and poses a threat to national security. The inclusion of paid-for adverts in addition to user-generated fraud places the responsibility upon online platforms to stem this tide and take actions to curb this threat.’

'We urge the Government to adopt these recommendations in order to meet the Bill’s key objective of making the UK a safer place to be online.'

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

About Cifas

Cifas is the UK’s fraud prevention service. We lead the fight against fraud by sharing data, intelligence and learning. The organisations that collaborate with us are drawn from all sectors, operating in both the public and private sectors working together to stop fraud. A full list of our members, can be found on our website.

Organisations that work with Cifas, contribute to and benefit from the UK’s largest databases of fraud risk data and intelligence. We are committed to the principle of collaboration, which connects and drives our community, and enables the sharing of:

Data - We enable the secure sharing of high quality, trusted data to fight fraud. Our databases are the most comprehensive and diverse sources of fraud risk data in the UK.
Intelligence - We provide research and dynamic intelligence that influences the threat picture and strengthens the response against fraud.

Learning - We are a leading provider of accredited education and trusted training.

About Mike Haley

Mike has more than 30 years' experience of tackling and preventing fraud across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, including considerable experience directing investigations, as well as developing prevention and detection strategies. He has led investigative teams in the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Office of Fair Trading, HM Revenue & Customs and Solicitors Regulation Authority. He also worked at the National Fraud Authority directing cross sector fraud prevention strategies including on mortgage fraud and identity crime. He joined Cifas as Deputy Chief Executive in May 2015, and became Chief Executive in May 2018.

Further information

For more information from Cifas, please contact

Matt Pearson, Press & PR Manager
matthew.pearson@cifas.org.uk
+44 (0)20 4551 7956

Contact us at press@cifas.org.uk