Government sets out plans to ban cold calls for financial products

The government has set out plans to ban cold calls for financial services and products, such as insurance, as part of its fraud strategy.

In an eight-week consultation published yesterday (2 August 2023), the government said it was making the move to stop fraudsters tricking the public into scams.

It warned that criminals had used cold calling for financial services to con people and would often target those who were most vulnerable.

The government hopes that implementing a ban will make the public aware that no legitimate firm would cold call them to market financial services or products.

Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the treasury, said: “Any unsolicited calls of this type should be viewed as scams and the public should feel empowered to put the phone down and report these calls.

“This will stop the fraudsters dead in their tracks and prevent the emotional and financial harm that cold calling can cause.

“We can work together to tackle the fraudsters head-on by cutting off their ability to deploy the high-pressure tactics of cold calling.

“We want the public to know that any unsolicited call marketing financial products, such as a cryptoasset or insurance, is a scam and not to fall prey to fraudsters.”

Impacts

The consultation paper published yesterday looks at how to design and implement the ban, while allowing legitimate communications from businesses to continue.

As part of this, it is seeking views over the scope of the ban and a call for evidence on the impacts it may have.

“Our objective is to maximise the effectiveness of this ban in stopping fraudsters, while limiting any unintended impacts on legitimate contact by firms selling useful financial services and products,” Griffith said.

“Responses to this consultation will help inform the government’s approach in achieving this goal, including on questions related to the precise scope of this ban and how best to communicate it to the public.”