New cross-industry guidance gives telecoms providers the green light for data-sharing to combat fraud.
- CCUK has published data-sharing guidance
- developed in collaboration with the Home Office, Ofcom and input from the ICO
Comms Council UK (CCUK), the trade association representing the UK’s VoIP, IP telephony, and advanced communications sector, has published its data-sharing guidance for tackling telephone-enabled fraud. The guidance, produced in conjunction with the Home Office and Ofcom, and with input from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), gives telecoms providers of all sizes the confidence to share data lawfully with industry partners, law enforcement, and fraud prevention organisations in order to detect and disrupt fraud faster and protect consumers.
Tracey Wright, Chair of Comms Council UK, said:
“For too long, telecoms providers haven’t had the confidence to appropriately share information to disrupt fraud. This guidance, developed with Ofcom, the Home Office and the ICO, changes that.”
Protection against fraud, reducing its impact
Fraud remains one of the most prevalent crimes affecting the UK public, causing serious harm to individuals, businesses, and the wider economy, where telecoms networks can be exploited to disseminate scam calls and messages. With fraud now accounting for 45% of all reported crime, addressing these gaps is crucial for tackling telephone-enabled fraud and protecting potential victims.
Tackling telephone-enabled fraud effectively requires collaboration, including sharing relevant data with industry partners, law enforcement, and fraud prevention organisations. However, communications providers have not always been clear nor confident as to how they can lawfully share data of suspected fraudsters on their networks.
This guidance is aimed at telecommunications providers of all sizes operating in the UK, and explains what types of data-sharing is lawful, what frameworks exist to support it, and how to get started. This gives providers, and their legal and data protection teams, the assurance that appropriate data sharing to prevent fraud is lawful and necessary.
Real impacts for businesses and consumers
The guidance includes real examples of what data-sharing and collaboration can achieve: in one case, cross-industry analysis of network data identified an “SMS blaster” being used to mass send fraudulent texts, leading to an arrest, conviction, and sentencing. In another, telecoms provider data was shared with financial institutions to identify potential business victims of fraud, where banks were able to investigate and add additional fraud monitoring and controls.
Industry-led guidance backed by regulators and government
Criminal misuse of networks erodes consumer confidence in voice and messaging services and damages providers’ reputations and revenues. However, modern fraud chains are increasingly complex, spanning across multiple communication channels and hundreds of communications providers. Individual providers have a lack of oversight across the whole fraud chain and cannot effectively tackle the problem alone.
This guidance sets out how providers can share data to identify fraudsters and victims – including an easy-to-follow checklist and decision flow – and what legal frameworks support this, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the Data Use and Access Act 2025 (DUAA). The guidance reflects the shared commitments set out in the government’s Fraud Strategy 2026-2029 and the Telecommunications Fraud Charter (November 2025), both of which recognise industry data sharing as a central component of detecting and disrupting fraud at scale.
Available Now
CCUK’s data sharing guidance is available now to all UK telecoms providers. CCUK is encouraging providers of all sizes to read the guidance and share it with their legal, compliance, and data protection teams. Providers seeking further support can contact CCUK directly or consult the list of key organisations set out in the guidance.
To read the full guidance, visit https://commscouncil.uk/sharing-data-to-tackle-fraud-guidance-for-telecoms-providers/
Amy Jordan, Ofcom’s Strategy and Delivery Director, has said:
“Fraud can have a devastating impact on victim’s 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.”
