Posted on: 15th April 2026, by Tracey Wright
Fraud remains one of the most significant challenges facing the UK economy, affecting individuals, businesses and public services alike. Latest figures estimate it costs £14.4bn each year and accounts for around 45% of reported crime.
So, it’s reassuring to see that the Government’s latest Fraud Strategy – launched at London’s Guildhall on 9th March – packs a real punch. Backed by a commitment of over £250 million in Government spending through to 2029, it combines investment with high expectations for delivery.
At its core, the strategy is built around three main pillars: disrupt, safeguard and respond. It recognises that no single part of the digital ecosystem can tackle fraud alone, so it sets out a coordinated approach across industry sectors, law enforcement, regulators and relevant governmental departments in order to make measurable progress in the battle against fraud.
Telecommunications providers sit at a critical point in this landscape. Whilst telecoms networks are rarely the direct target, they are frequently the channel through which fraud reaches victims. Having worked closely with Lord Hanson and his team on the voluntary Telecoms Fraud Charter (launched November 2025), it is clear that regulators and Government increasingly expect communications providers to play an active role in identifying and reducing suspicious activity – and one way or another, we will all be held to account.
This article outlines what each pillar means in practice, what is changing, what Magrathea is doing in response and what it means for our clients.
Pillar One – Disrupt
Fraudsters depend on communications channels – whether through voice calls, messaging or other digital services – to reach potential victims. This means telecoms providers are often in a position to detect patterns of suspicious activity and intervene when traffic appears abnormal.
The strategy places strong emphasis on preventing fraudulent activity before harm occurs, rather than relying solely on enforcement after the event. To support this, the Government has announced the launch of a public-private Online Crime Centre (OCC).
The OCC will combine data, knowledge and expertise from all participants, and will provide both structure and technology to facilitate collaborative data sharing. The initiative will be permanently staffed by both public and private sector specialists and will work closely with Report Fraud and the National Cyber Security Centre’s Share and Defend programme, helping maximise the value of intelligence gathered across these existing schemes.
The Online Crime Centre has already been piloting collaborative approaches to help reduce fraud at scale, and a further £31m has been allocated to support its full development.
However, effective collaboration depends on clarity. Legal and regulatory uncertainty around data sharing remains a challenge, and the Government has launched a call for evidence on economic crime information sharing to address this. This review examines the legislative and regulatory barriers organisations encounter when attempting to share information and asks what further clarity or reform may be needed to enable a more effective collaborative approach.
You can read the call for evidence here and, if you would like to share any views whilst we prepare our response, please do get in touch.
Alongside the development of the strategy, a number of organisations in the telecoms sector – including Magrathea – have signed up to the voluntary Telecoms Fraud Charter, which sets out clear commitments for the sector, including:
- expanding participation in data-sharing initiatives
- supporting development of a national traceback capability
- strengthening support for victims of fraud.
The Home Office has made it clear within the Fraud Strategy that Charter commitments will be monitored and reported to Parliament. At the time of writing, we are preparing our six-monthly update through Comms Council UK. Progress is encouraging, but there is still more to do.
Despite the efforts already underway across the sector, systems can still make it too easy for bad actors to obtain phone numbers. Verification and due diligence requirements are sometimes applied inconsistently across the value chain.
The Home Office intends to launch a further call for evidence later this year exploring measures to reduce anonymity and strengthen accountability. Whilst details are not yet available, possible measures could include enhanced KYC requirements or improved visibility of authorised communications providers. Greater clarity in this area could help improve traceability and confidence across the industry.
Another proposal aims to improve visibility and accountability through development of a secure digital tool, potentially in the form of a centralised repository, to maintain real-time information relating to the status and ownership of numbers.
Those who have been in the industry for some time will recall previous attempts to introduce centralised numbering solutions, often linked to number portability challenges, which did not gain sufficient industry support. With backing from the Home Office, it will be interesting to see whether this initiative gains greater traction.
Pillar Two – Safeguard
With criminals continuously refining their approach and exploiting both technical and human vulnerabilities, the strategy recognises the need to strengthen resilience across both organisations and individuals.
The Stop! Think Fraud campaign – originally launched under the previous strategy – will be expanded to cover a broader range of fraud types, aiming to improve awareness and preparedness amongst consumers and businesses.
Additional support is also being directed towards:
- Cyber Resilience Centres, which offer practical advice to organisations seeking to strengthen their security posture and reduce exposure to fraud risks.
- The National Trading Standards Scams Team, through further funding to enhance protection for vulnerable individuals and improve disruption of fraudulent activity.
- The PROTECT programme, which uses data to identify individuals most at risk and deliver targeted support.
The emphasis here is clear: reducing vulnerability is as important as disrupting criminal activity.
Pillar Three – Respond
The third pillar focuses on improving the response to fraud once it has occurred, including victim support, reporting processes and enforcement capability.
The new Report Fraud service replaces Action Fraud, with the aim of providing a more streamlined reporting mechanism for victims. This service will form a central part of the UK’s future fraud response framework.
A new Fraud Victims Charter is also expected next year, setting out minimum standards of care and improving consistency in how victims are supported. The Home Office is also exploring further support mechanisms for victims of identity theft.
For telecoms providers, one of the most significant developments is the Home Office commitment to work with Ofcom and industry to develop and deliver a National Telecommunications Traceback Scheme by early 2028. This marks a shift from reactive investigation towards a more structured, industry-wide capability to trace and disrupt fraudulent activity at source.
One of the persistent challenges in tackling scam calls is identifying the true origin of traffic, particularly where caller identity information has been manipulated. Industry work through the NICC is already exploring traceback approaches that would allow networks to identify the source of suspicious calls more efficiently.
This is a complex area, requiring collaboration between multiple providers whilst ensuring commercially sensitive information remains protected. However, effective traceback capability is widely recognised as an important step in preventing misuse of numbering resources and protecting the reputation of legitimate businesses whose numbers may otherwise be spoofed.
Magrathea continues to support this work through CCUK and NICC membership, as improved traceback capability benefits the entire communications ecosystem.
The Government has also committed to strengthening the criminal and civil justice response to fraud through improved coordination and development of specialist expertise in economic crime.
Recognising that fraud is often cross-border in nature, the strategy also includes commitments to work with international partners and support INTERPOL in developing a Global Fraud Taskforce.
What this means for Magrathea clients
Directly or indirectly, the obligations arising from the Fraud Strategy are likely to impact all participants in the telecoms ecosystem to some degree but while the finer details are established we are encouraging our clients to focus on the following practical steps to improve compliance now and in the future:
- Carry out appropriate due diligence when onboarding customers
- Revalidate due diligence periodically throughout the customer lifecycle
- Monitor traffic patterns to identify anomalies
- Report any suspicious prospects or customers to National Trading Standards Scams Team
- Audit numbering allocations and be ready for a central database!
These are not new measures, but a good reminder that there are many things we can all do today to increase the chances of disrupting or identifying fraud.
If you would like to discuss how these developments may affect your services, please get in touch with our team.
For those wishing to review the full Fraud Strategy and associated timelines, the document is available here.