Mobile phone companies should be sued if they fail to stop fraudulent text messages, say peers

The House of Lords Digital Fraud Committee has said telecoms giants must do more to prevent fraudulent messages from reaching victims and must combating the problem of false calls

Mobile phone companies are under pressure to stop fraudulent text messages sent by fraudsters (

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Mobile phone companies should face criminal charges if they fail to eradicate the scourge of fraudulent text messages, it has been warned.

Peers have demanded the introduction of a new criminal offense for companies to “fail to prevent fraud”.

In a damning report, the House of Lords digital fraud committee said the telecoms industry needed to do more to block messages before they reach victims and tackle fake calls.< /p>

The tech industry needs to clamp down on fraudsters who use online advertising and social media platforms to attract consumers, he said.

"Until all fraud-prone industries fear significant financial, legal and reputational risk due to their failure to prevent fraud, they will not act," the peers said.

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Mobile phone companies risk fines if they fail to prevent their customers from becoming victims of fraud (

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Fraud is the most prevalent crime in England and Wales, accounting for around 41% of all crimes against individuals, according to the report.

"If citizens were routinely attacked and had millions of pounds stolen from their wallets in broad daylight, every organization involved in what enabled this to happen would have no choice but to walk away. occupy quickly, and the perpetrators would be brought to justice in court,” he said.

"Because most fraud now happens online and often involves social engineering...