To tackle it, the government could introduce an anti-fraud levy on social media companies so the financial burden is more evenly distributed, Jonathan Fisher KC suggests in his report, ‘Fraud in the digital age—independent review of disclosure and fraud offences’, published this week.
Fisher, of Red Lion Chambers, also recommends doubling the maximum sentence from 10 to 20 years, and creating criminal offences to tackle emerging frauds such impersonation and money muling as well as a criminal offence for those who harass or intimidate whistleblowers.
He calls on the government to foster international cooperation on evidence gathering, asset recovery, and extradition through trade agreements and memorandum of understandings. Offenders often live overseas, beyond the scope of UK crime enforcement.
Fisher said: ‘It is clear that the UK needs to recalibrate its approach to fraud by treating it as a national security and economic priority rather than a low-level financial crime.
‘Greater coordination between government, law enforcement, regulators and industry, combined with stronger prevention measures and victim support, is essential to reduce its growing scale and impact. The system needs to be brought up to speed fast if justice is to be done.’
His review found fraud victims currently wait 18 months on average for a charging decision.
Part 1 of his review, which focused on disclosure, was published in March 2025. The government announced this week it will proceed with the majority of the recommendations.
Fisher said: ‘By bringing the criminal justice system more squarely into the electronic age, the disclosure process can be transformed, saving millions of hours of police work, accelerating investigations, and dramatically reducing the delays that prevent serious fraud cases from being brought swiftly to trial.’
