Niall Hearty of Rahman Ravelli considers the response to risks posed by artificial intelligence
The UK government is to target artificial intelligence-related threats in its updated anti-fraud strategy.
The government's Plan for Change, which is set to be published later this year, will include new measures relating to the evolving fraud risks posed by new technology.
Proposals regarding data sharing to tackle online harm and international co-operation are also set to be included in the revised strategy, along with initiatives for working with the private sector, tackling fraud against businesses, raising public awareness and providing support for victims.
Lord Hanson, the Minister of State at the Home Office who has responsibility for fraud, outlined the plans at the Global Anti-Scam Summit in London.
Explaining the need for the measures, he said: "Fraud has changed and so too must our response. Fraud is an increasingly international enterprise run by some of the most appalling criminal gangs operating in the world today.
"That's 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."
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show a 19% rise in reports of consumer and retail fraud in the year to June 2024. Fraud and cyber offences now make up half of the UK's online crime. But although there has been a surge in fraud-related crime in the UK in recent years, this is not dissimilar to other countries; who have also suffered the sophisticated techniques used by the perpetrators of fraud.
Generative AI (GenAI), in particular, has been credited with offering endless opportunities to criminal networks to target banks and their customers. The rate at which criminals adopt this technology poses a challenge to their targets and to law enforcement. Criminal networks are increasingly global in nature and so cooperation with international partners is needed to build a united front against this threat
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