On 5 November 2025 at the BT Tower, CCUK signed the government’s Second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter. Our Chair, Tracey Wright, addressed the event and set out CCUK’s role in driving practical measures across the business to business voice and telephony market.
Section 2 of the Charter drew on input from CCUK members. It commits CCUK and other signatories to expand trusted data sharing, including a proof of concept API with NICC, and to broaden participation in the joint CCUK and National Trading Standards scheme launched in January 2025.
The charter also commits signatories to partner with law enforcement to disrupt criminal enablers, to engage in a UK Traceback solution that identifies the origin of suspicious calls, and to keep best practice guidance current on number misuse and fraud monitoring. In addition, signatories will support and amplify the Government‑led Stop! Think Fraud campaign through training and proactive communications, and introduce shared principles to support business victims.
The timelines are clear. Within six months, signatories will promote the NTS scheme and begin the NICC API proof of concept. Within 12 months, they will report progress on data sharing, traceback recommendations, updated guidance and member training. Full adoption of victim support principles is targeted within 18 months.
In a written statement, the Minister for Security, Dan Jarvis, welcomed providers’ proactive approach, commended their dedication to safeguarding consumers, said the Government stands firmly alongside the sector, and committed to convene, support and challenge partners while holding them to account so the UK becomes a hostile environment for fraudsters and a safer place for everyone.
Fraud Strategy 2026-2029
In March 2026 the government has published its Fraud Strategy 2026–2029, a £250 million programme built around three pillars: Disrupt, Safeguard and Respond. Fraud now accounts for around 45% of all crime in England and Wales, costing an estimated £14.4 billion annually, with much of it enabled through online and communications channels. The Strategy repeatedly identifies the communications sector as both a potential enabler of fraud and a critical partner in prevention, placing new expectations on telecoms alongside banking and technology companies.
At the Strategy’s launch at Guildhall on 9 March, which Comms Council UK attended, Fraud Minister Lord Hanson of Flint set out the government’s ambition “to make the UK the hardest place in the world for fraudsters to operate”. He described fraud as both a national security challenge and an economic risk, calling on telecoms providers to maintain maximum scam blocking, modernise and secure networks, support the development of traceback systems so criminals cannot hide within complex routing chains, and share intelligence on emerging scam patterns through the forthcoming Online Crime Centre. He also signalled that sector performance will be closely scrutinised.
The Strategy includes several measures that will directly affect providers operating in the UK telecoms and IP communications ecosystem. In 2026, the Home Office, working with Ofcom, law enforcement, intelligence agencies and industry, will launch a Call for Evidence on reducing anonymity and strengthening accountability across the communications sector. Issues expected to be explored include potential registration or licensing requirements for entities accessing UK networks, possibly requiring UK incorporation and compliance with Ofcom’s General Conditions; stronger Know Your Customer requirements for network access and wholesale relationships; restrictions on anonymous or lightly vetted access to UK numbering and routing resources; and improved routes for law enforcement monitoring and assurance. For many CCUK members this consultation is likely to be the main forum shaping future expectations on onboarding, monitoring and enforcement across the VoIP and wholesale ecosystem.
The government will also explore the development of a secure digital tool for managing UK telephone numbers, intended to create a more authoritative and up-to-date view of number allocation and status. The aim is to enable providers to verify number assignment in near real time, support faster traceback of suspicious calls or campaigns, and improve blocking and reputation checks. Depending on the final design, this could have implications for how members provision, port and manage numbers, as well as how they respond to traceback or blocking requests.
Alongside this, the Strategy commits the government to working with industry and Ofcom to implement a national telecommunications traceback scheme by early 2028. The objective is to establish a consistent cross-network mechanism for tracing high-harm traffic through complex chains of providers and routes, enabling action to be taken against those responsible. This aligns with ongoing industry discussions around practical traceback processes for IP-based voice and messaging services.
The Strategy also formally recognises the second Telecommunications Fraud Charter, signed in November 2025, which expanded commitments on intelligence sharing, traceback pilots, network upgrades, AI tools and victim support. The government will monitor delivery against the Charter and report to Parliament every six months until the end of 2027, while working with Ofcom and industry to develop metrics that track how effectively the telecoms sector is tackling fraud. This is likely to increase visibility of sector performance and may lead to more consistent reporting across networks.
More broadly, the Strategy promotes stronger authentication across digital services, including guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre on passkeys and wider use of Digital Verification Services under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework. While primarily aimed at banking and online platforms, this direction of travel may influence expectations around how communications providers verify customers, manage high-risk account changes and integrate identity signals into fraud prevention processes.
A central operational element of the Strategy is the creation of the Online Crime Centre, launching in April 2026 with more than £30 million in funding. The unit will bring together specialists from the Home Office, the National Crime Agency, the City of London Police, intelligence agencies, banks, telecoms providers and technology companies to combine intelligence on accounts, websites, phone numbers and criminal behaviour. Its role will be to block scam calls and texts, freeze criminal accounts, remove fraudulent content and coordinate disruption against high-harm fraud networks, including those operating overseas. Telecoms providers are expected to contribute intelligence and respond quickly to OCC alerts as part of this model.
The Strategy recognises telecoms engagement to date, including the Telecommunications Fraud Charter, and highlights Comms Council UK as an important voice for the sector. At the launch event, CCUK Chair Tracey Wright emphasised that fraud prevention remains a top priority for members and that meaningful progress will depend on genuine cross-sector collaboration, timely intelligence sharing on emerging threats and proven scams, and clear guidance on enforcement. She noted that fraudsters move quickly and continually adapt their tactics, meaning industry defences must be equally agile.
Over the coming months, CCUK will engage with the Home Office and Ofcom on the 2026 Call for Evidence on anonymity and accountability, monitor the development of the secure numbering tool and traceback scheme, and work with members to understand operational impacts, including issues around data quality, liability and implementation. We will also continue feeding member experience into the development of the Online Crime Centre and wider fraud governance structures such as the Joint Fraud Taskforce. Members with experience relating to traceback, number management, onboarding processes or fraud controls will be invited to contribute to this engagement as the Strategy moves into its implementation phase.
