UK To Ban Cold Calls Related To Crypto Investment

Key Points:

• The UK Treasury mulls a ban on financial telemarketing to curb £7 billion in fraud.
• Seeking a balance between anti-fraud and business impact, the government plans 400 new intelligence jobs.
• The Bank of England and FCA united for a stable financial landscape and a positive response to the stablecoin effort.

In anticipation of a comprehensive ban on telemarketing related to financial services and products, the UK Treasury has taken a proactive step by releasing a consultation document.

The move aims to assess the potential grassroots implications of the ban, offering stakeholders an opportunity to provide evidence and insights.

The ban, set to target cold calls promoting financial products including insurance and cryptocurrencies, is part of the UK‘s broader strategy to combat fraud, which costs the nation an estimated £7 billion annually.

To strengthen its approach, the government committed in May to adding 400 new jobs to enhance intelligence-led policing and combat fraudulent activities, according to Bloomberg.

The consultation document issued by the Treasury outlines 19 key questions for stakeholders to address.

These questions are designed to gauge the ban’s potential impact on scammers while minimizing disruptions for legitimate businesses that rely on cold calling as a marketing strategy. The consultation period is set to conclude on September 27, 2023.

One specific concern highlighted by the Treasury is the susceptibility of investors to losses resulting from cold calls.

Sometimes, investors have fallen victim to scams involving financial products like cryptocurrencies. Despite previous regulatory efforts to curb cold calling, scammers often exploit legal loopholes to evade restrictions.

In conjunction with the ban, the Treasury will collaborate with telecoms regulator Ofcom to counter phone number spoofing, which fraudsters use to impersonate genuine UK phone numbers. This technological initiative aims to strengthen the enforcement of the ban further.

Additionally, recent Bank of England (BoE) developments indicate progress in establishing a systemic stablecoin framework.

The BoE’s collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to supervise these stablecoins has garnered positive feedback from stakeholders, signaling a concerted effort to ensure the stability of the financial landscape.

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