UK Home Office fraud strategy 2026 to 2029

The UK Home Office has published its updated fraud strategy for 2026–29, setting out the government's new approach to tackling fraud. It explains how the UK intends to disrupt the methods used by criminals, strengthen protections for the public and businesses, and improve how victims are supported. The strategy is split into three pillars:

• Disrupt: cutting off the tools, technologies and platforms used by criminals, including launching the Online Crime Centre (a new capability that will bring together law enforcement, intelligence agencies and industry expertise to identify and dismantle fraud networks) and strengthening international partnerships. Amongst the initiatives seeking to prevent the abuse of the UK's financial flows, the Home Office will launch a call for evidence focused on unauthorised fraud, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consider examples of practices for preventing APP fraud and money mule activity and will share its recommendations, and HM Treasury will repeal the existing Strong Customer Authentication technical standards, allowing the FCA to incorporate key standards into its rules and adopt a more agile, outcomes-focused approach. Regulating cryptoasset financial services activities is also seen as a crucial step. The government intends to develop metrics for measuring the prevalence of fraudulent activity in financial services, and their performance in removing and/or blocking such activity.
• Safeguard: strengthening public and business resilience through proactive policing, clear guidance and an expanded 'Stop! Think Fraud' campaign which, from April, will cover a broader range of fraud types, including high-harm frauds. The government intends to continue to support UK Finance to expand their Vulnerable Victim Notification Scheme to all police forces and the Home Office intends to then launch this as a Financial Safeguarding Scheme. Combatting financial exploitation is intended to add an additional layer to the safeguarding response.
• Respond: improving victim support, operating the City of London Police's new Report Fraud service (replacing Action Fraud as the national platform for reporting cybercrime and fraud) and strengthening civil and criminal powers to bring offenders to justice.

The strategy also outlines a major investment programme and the governance arrangements that will oversee delivery.

Return to main website.