UK to introduce ban on all cold calls selling financial products

The UK Parliament have announced that a ban on the use of cold calls to sell financial products and on technology which allows mass texting of numerous phones will be introduced as part of measures to tackle scams. Fraud is the most common crime in the UK with as many as 1 in 15 people falling victim each year with Ofcom data published in 2022 showing that 41 million people were targeted by suspicious calls and texts.

The introduction of a ban means that all unsolicited calls offering financial product will be forbidden. There are already several financial products and services which are subject to a ban on cold calling consumers including pension firms, claims management firms and funeral planning providers. A total ban means that even legitimate firms will be prevented from cold calling potential customers. In addition, technology which enables people to use a large numbers of Sim cards to send text messages in bulk, will also be banned.

The ban is being introduced with the hope that it will tackle fraud by making it clear to consumers that receiving an unsolicited call claiming to offer a financial product or service is not legitimate.