Comms Council UK issues guidance on telecoms fraud sharing

Comms Council UK has published guidance on data sharing to tackle telephone-enabled fraud. The document was developed with the Home Office and Ofcom, with input from the Information Commissioner's Office.

The guidance is designed to remove uncertainty that has deterred telecoms providers from sharing intelligence on suspected fraudsters with other networks, banks, police and fraud prevention bodies. It sets out which forms of data sharing are lawful and explains the legal frameworks that support them.

Fraud accounts for 45% of all reported crime in the UK, according to government figures released alongside the launch. Telecoms networks are a common route for scam calls and text messages, and providers have argued that fragmented information makes it harder to identify criminal activity before messages reach potential victims.

The document is aimed at telecoms providers of all sizes operating in the UK. It is also intended to give legal, compliance and data protection teams a clearer basis for deciding when information can be shared to prevent fraud.

Legal clarity

The guidance refers to the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data Use and Access Act 2025. It includes a checklist and decision flow to help providers assess whether sharing data in a particular case is lawful and proportionate.

One of the central questions has been whether providers can exchange information on suspected fraudsters without breaching data protection rules. The new framework seeks to answer that directly by setting out when such sharing can be justified for fraud prevention.

Lord Hanson, Fraud Minister at the Home Office, welcomed the publication.

"I welcome the publication of this guidance, which will help communications providers share information more effectively to identify and disrupt fraud. This marks an important step in delivering on the commitments made through the Telecom Fraud Sector Charter and towards keeping the public safe from scams. Only through close collaboration between industry, government and law enforcement will we make it harder for fraudsters to operate and better protect the public," said Hanson.

Case studies

The guidance includes examples of data sharing already used in fraud investigations. In one case, providers combined network data to identify an "SMS blaster" used to send fraudulent texts at scale, leading to an arrest, conviction and sentence.

In another example, telecoms provider data was shared with financial institutions to identify businesses that could be targets of fraud. Banks then investigated and added extra monitoring and controls to affected accounts.

These cases show how telecoms operators can contribute intelligence earlier in the fraud chain. They also highlight the wider role of telecoms data in helping sectors outside communications, particularly banking, spot suspicious patterns before losses are reported.

Tracey Wright, Chair of Comms Council UK, said: "For too long, telecoms providers have not had the confidence to share information appropriately to disrupt fraud. This guidance, developed with Ofcom, the Home Office and the ICO, changes that. We are proud to have led this work as a signatory to the government's Fraud Charter, and the real-world examples in the guidance show that it can have a tangible impact in stopping more fraud and scams. In one case study alone, millions of victims were protected. We are committed to continuing to work with government, regulators and industry to fight fraud and scams on our networks and support our members in doing so."

Regulatory backing

The Information Commissioner's Office said data protection law should not be seen as an obstacle to sharing information where the purpose is fraud prevention and organisations act responsibly. That point is likely to be significant for providers that have taken a cautious approach because of concerns about regulatory scrutiny.

Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the ICO, said: "Data protection law is not a barrier to sharing information to prevent fraud. In fact, it provides a clear and lawful framework for doing so responsibly. Effective data sharing between organisations is key to staying one step ahead of criminals and preventing scams before they can cause harm. Telecoms providers of all sizes should have the confidence to share data lawfully with industry partners, law enforcement and fraud prevention organisations to protect their customers. Where organisations act in good faith and take reasonable and proportionate steps to share data responsibly, they can expect our support."

Ofcom also backed the effort, framing data sharing as part of a broader co-ordinated response to fraud involving regulators, providers and law enforcement agencies.

Amy Jordan, Strategy and Delivery Director at Ofcom, said: "Fraud can have a devastating impact on victims' lives, and tackling it requires a joined-up approach from a range of bodies. Effective data sharing between communications providers and other organisations, including anti-fraud bodies, regulators and law enforcement agencies, is an important step in helping protect customers against criminals."

The work sits within a broader policy push by government and industry to strengthen defences against scams carried over telecoms networks. The Fraud Strategy 2026-2029 and the Telecommunications Fraud Charter both identify industry data sharing as a key tool for detecting and disrupting fraud across multiple providers and channels.

Comms Council UK said modern fraud chains often involve hundreds of communications providers, limiting the visibility any one company has over the full path of a scam call or message. "Individual providers lack oversight across the whole fraud chain and cannot effectively tackle the problem alone," the organisation said in its explanation of the guidance.