2/3 View Harmful Content, £1.3 Billion Lost to Fraud & More

gp_news_thumbnail

TWO THIRDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE VIEW HARMFUL CONTENT ONLINE

Two thirds of teens and young adults have recently encountered at least one potentially harmful piece of content online, according to research by media regulator, Ofcom.

Almost 1 in 6 (14%) of young people also said they experienced bullying or abusive behaviour online, while almost 1 in 4 said they had come across misinformation (23%) and scams, fraud and phishing (22%).  However, fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) said they took action to flag or report the content.

The research is part of Ofcom’s campaign to encourage young people to report instances of harmful activity they see online.

“As we prepare to take on our new role as online safety regulator, we’re already working with video sites and apps to make sure they’re taking steps to protect their users from harmful content,” said Anna-Sophie Harling, Online Safety Principal at Ofcom.

“Our campaign is designed to empower young people to report harmful content when they see it, and we stand ready to hold tech firms to account on how effectively they respond.”

£1.3 BILLION STOLEN THROUGH FRAUD AND SCAMS IN 2021

Over £1.3 billion was stolen through fraud and scams in 2021 according to research by UK Finance, a trade association for the banking and financial services sector in the UK.

Unauthorised fraud in 2021 stood at £730.4 million while authorised push payment (APP) fraud was £583.2 million, according to the research.

Almost 40%of APP losses took place as a result of impersonation scams. 

“Fraud has a devastating impact on victims and the money stolen funds serious organised crime, as well as imposing significant costs on the wider economy,” said Katy Worobec, managing director of Economic Crime at UK Finance.

“Authorised fraud losses rose again this year as criminals targeted people through a variety of sophisticated scams, with much of the criminal activity taking place outside the banking sector, often involving online and technology platforms. This is why we continue to call for other sectors to play a greater role in helping protect customers from the scourge of fraud.” 

It comes as an investigation by Which? magazine found social media sites to be ‘rife’ with fake insurance adverts.

The ads are set up by ‘ghost brokers’ – unlicensed intermediaries who claim to be offering insurance policies at below-market rates.

Which? has advised customers to avoid dealing with firms who have no sign of authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority – the UK’s banking and insurance regulator.

NEW SNAPCHAT SUBSCRIPTION LOCATION FEATURE

A new Snapchat Plus service, including a new location feature, is being launched to users as part of a new $3.99 per month subscription.  It is aimed at those whose time on the app is geared towards contact with their closest friends and includes new features, including custom app icons, the ability to identify a friend as your #1 friend and a map-based feature which allows users to see “the general direction of travel for where friends have moved recently.”

Snapchat have said that the feature is currently only available to users who have consented to sharing their location with friends on the app.  However, it comes as concerns are already being raised about users’ ability to track the location of others on the map, using directions provided by links to Google maps or Apple maps.

BIOMETRICS LAWS URGENTLY NEEDED, REVIEW FINDS

New laws governing the regulation of biometrics are urgently needed, according to a new review.

The legal review led by Matthew Ryder QC found that existing regulation governing the use of biometric data is fragmented and is failing to keep up with the pace of technological change.

Biometric data includes the use of fingerprints and facial recognition data designed to identify and track the activity of different users online.


Gooseberry Planet is seeking to appoint a person responsible for content, both course material and communications (newsletters, social media). If you know of someone who might have the right background and be interested, please contact michaelmartin52@mac.com

Scroll to Top