Tech giants come under pressure to block bank copycat websites amid surge in fraud

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Tech giants are under pressure to block bank copycat websites amid a surge in fraud and theft.

The scam websites look like real bank operations and con victims into clicking on links and inputting log-in and passwords details.

That leaves them open to having their accounts raided - and new figures show the scale of the problem, with more than 2,000 such sites being reported in 2023.

The consumer champion teamed up with the DNS Research Federation (DNSRF), an Oxford-based non-profit that does data-driven policy research to find out just how widespread the issue is.

The DNSRF found that more than 2,000 bogus URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) containing names such as Barclays, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Starling.

These websites were flagged and shut down, however consumer group Which? fears they represent just the tip of the iceberg.

Tech giants are under pressure to block bank copycat websites amid a surge in fraud and theft (Stock Photo)

The scam websites look like real bank operations and con victims into clicking on links and inputting log-in and passwords details (Stock Photo)

Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, Rocio Concha, said: 'It's hugely concerning that thousands of banking copycat websites were reported in a single year - potentially leaving millions of consumers exposed to fraudulent content online.

'Consumers who are just trying to bank online should not have to shoulder the responsibility of reporting scam sites and chasing domain registrars to take them down.'

She said domain registrars, the companies which allow the scam websites to be established and operate, 'have a much bigger role to play in the fight against online fraud'.

She added: 'With an election just around the corner, the next government must make fighting fraud a national priority, and place new legal duties on these companies to prevent scammers from setting up these fraudulent copycat websites.'

The banks said they have teams constantly monitoring and taking down malicious copycat websites.