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Funerals: Fraud

Asked by Sorcha EastwoodAllianceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled Answered 25 October 2024UIN 9591

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to shut down online scams related to funeral homes.

Answered by Feryal Clark

Fraud offences are designated as priority under the Online Safety Act, which means that user-to-user and search services in scope of the Act must implement measures to prevent users encountering scams and frauds via their services.

Additional duties to have systems and process in place to prevent users from encountering paid-for fraudulent advertising will also apply to Category 1 and 2A services (user-to-user and search services over designated thresholds).

These measures are designed to prevent a range of online frauds, including social media scams.

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