Tech giants have signed a “world first” in November 2023 to do more to combat fraud on their platforms, but which one? An estimated 6.6 million people in the UK have lost money to online scams in the last 12 months.

Companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (Twitter) and YouTube have all signed the voluntary agreement. Online fraud charterwhich marks its first anniversary this week.

They’re committed to protecting users from fraudulent content, vetting new advertisers and quickly removing fraudulent content – but our research suggests scammers are still rampant.

Here we explain why we are calling on the government to introduce the Online Safety Act and impose fines on businesses that fail to stamp out online fraud.

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Social networks and search engines full of scams

Which? surveyed more than 2,000 UK adults to find out whether the Online Fraud Charter has had an impact on the volume of scams encountered online.

In the past year, 12% have lost money to online scams, which equates to 6.6 million when considering the entire UK adult population. This figure does not include those who lost personal data or realized they had been scammed before losing money, meaning the actual number of people affected by scams in line is much higher.

Three quarters (74%) of these scams took place on platforms that have committed to respecting the Charter. Most were linked to social media companies (63%), although fraud was also prevalent on search engines (42%), online marketplaces (39%) and messaging platforms (23%).

The brands most likely to be linked to scams were Facebook (37%), Google (33%), Instagram (20%), Amazon (18%) and WhatsApp (18%).

The most common scams were shopping scams, investment scams, identity theft scams, and dating or relationship scams.

Amazon, Google and Meta did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.

• Learn more: how to spot a social media scam

People are anxious and suspicious

Tech companies that signed the Charter on November 30, 2023 have committed to action within six months, but online scams remain out of control.

Since then, which one? revealed dozens of malicious advertisements on social networks, including one fake Instagram car rental scam and fraudulent advertisements for poorly sold car financing And winter fuel payments.

Some 22% of those surveyed said they had encountered suspicious adverts or messages on a daily basis while online in the past six months and 73% do not trust the authenticity of the adverts they see on social networks or in search engines.

The Charter has clearly failed to reassure people: 34% are less likely to trust online platforms today, compared to a year ago, and only 3% feel more confident when using them. are using online platforms than a year ago.

• Learn more: how to spot and report fraudulent search engine ads

Why we need the Online Safety Act now

THE Online Safety Act is a British law that regulates online content and aims to make the internet safer, but the current timeline suggests that platforms may not be held accountable until 2027. That’s simply not enough.

Ofcom must bring regulation in place much sooner and Lord Hanson, the Fraud Minister, must ensure that the Government takes a more co-ordinated approach across the technology, banking and telecommunications sectors.

Rocio Concha, which one? The Director of Policy and Advocacy said:

“Our research found that despite the Charter’s promises against online fraud, fraud is still rife on online platforms in the UK – with 6.6 million people having lost money online. cause of online scams in the last 12 months.

“Every week that the Government fails to act, we lose millions to fraudsters and organized crime groups – taking money from productive businesses, reducing overall levels of investment in the UK economy and by undermining consumer confidence.” The government and regulators must act urgently to tackle the fraud epidemic, or risk millions more people falling victim to scammers.

“Under the current timetable of the Online Safety Act, platforms subject to the fraudulent advertising obligations under the Act will not be able to be held liable until 2027 – this is simply not enough. Ofcom must put regulations in place much sooner and the Fraud Minister must ensure a more coordinated approach in working with regulators and the technology, banking and telecommunications sectors to end the fraud epidemic.

• Learn more: fraud and impact on mental health

Yonder, on behalf of Which?, conducted an online survey of 2,068 UK adults aged 18 and over. Fieldwork took place November 8-10, 2024. Data was weighted to be nationally representative.