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New coalition of groups needed to help crack down on fraud, says Aviva

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Cite

Shaw, V. (2026, October 2). New coalition of groups needed to help crack down on fraud, says Aviva. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/money/aviva-ofcom-financial-conduct-authority-ceo-b1299290.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-02 · by Vicky Shaw

Quick Summary

Aviva is urging Ofcom to strengthen regulations against fraudulent insurance advertising through its ongoing consultation. The insurer reports an eightfold increase in website takedown requests related to ghost broking from 2025 to the first part of 2026 and calls for mandatory verification of financial services advertisers. Aviva also advocates forming a coalition involving industry, social media platforms, and regulators to share intelligence on fraud more effectively. Ofcom estimates that over £200 million is lost annually in the UK due to online scam advertisements, with nearly half of adults encountering such ads frequently.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Aviva, an insurance company, has called on Ofcom to strengthen online advertising rules in response to a surge in ghost broking. This illegal practice involves selling fake or invalid policies, often targeting young drivers who pay high premiums and may lack experience buying insurance. Comparing the full year 2025 with the period up to 2026, Aviva reported an eightfold increase in website takedown requests related to ghost broking. The insurer advocates for mandatory verification of financial services advertisers to ensure legitimate authority and quicker enforcement by fostering partnerships between industry players and social media platforms. This move aims to reduce consumer harm by swiftly removing fraudulent content from the internet.

Written for “Crack Down On Fraud” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Crack Down On Fraud
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8264 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Vicky Shaw
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Vicky Shaw
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Vicky Shaw →

Topics

Aviva Financial Conduct Authority Ofcom

Subjects

Ofcom ORG · 5× Aviva ORG · 3× Financial Conduct Authority ORG · 1× Oliver Griffiths PERSON · 1×

Narrative

It also said there should be mandatory verification of financial services advertisers, to ensure that account activity is in line with the relevant Financial Conduct Authority authorisations, including whether a provider is legitimate and has genuine authority to sell, arrange, introduce or promote the relevant products.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 Young drivers, who may have less experience of buying insurance policies and often pay relatively high premiums, are often targeted.
2026-10-02 · Evening Standard
New coalition of groups needed to help crack down on fraud, says Aviva · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 2 hedged)

Aviva said it is encouraging Ofcom to use its consultation on fraudulent advertising codes of practice as an opportunity to strengthen online advertising rules. asserted
it → say → rules
The insurer has called for deeper partnership between industry, social media platforms and others to share intelligence that can help enforcement happen more quickly. Ghost broking happens when unsuspecting people are sold fake or invalid policies, often through social media. asserted
people → call → media
Young drivers, who may have less experience of buying insurance policies and often pay relatively high premiums, are often targeted. uncertain
who → have → premiums
Policies are made artificially cheap by criminals by altering details and victims may not realise they have been scammed until they try to make a claim. uncertain
they → make → claim
Aviva said that, comparing the full year in 2025 with the year to date in 2026, website take down requests made by the insurer which were related to ghost broking have increased by more than eight times. asserted
which → say → times
Aviva said it wants to see faster takedown of fraudulent content, recognising the direct link between how long fraudulent content is live for and the extent of consumer harm. asserted
content → say → harm
It also said there should be mandatory verification of financial services advertisers, to ensure that account activity is in line with the relevant Financial Conduct Authority authorisations, including whether a provider is legitimate and has genuine authority to sell, arrange, introduce or promote the relevant products. asserted
provider → say → products
Read More “We think two things need to happen to curb this rise. asserted
things → read → rise
The first is Ofcom following through on its proposals to ensure that fraudulent content is identified and removed before it has the chance to do real harm to the public. asserted
it → follow → public
“The second is a new coalition bringing together financial institutions, platforms, consumer groups, regulators and law enforcement to share both real-time intel and discuss broader trends. asserted
second → bring → trends
We encourage them to work with the insurance industry to establish better intelligence sharing and cooperation. asserted
We → encourage → sharing
“We would also like to see the platforms contribute more proportionately towards enforcement and victim support.” asserted
platforms → like → enforcement
“It’s important to remember that insurance fraud is part of a wider trend of tech enabling online fraud more generally – an issue which includes the threat from investment scams and finfluencers promoting unregulated financial advice. asserted
which → ’ → advice
“Without this new regulation, as well as more joined-up enforcement, we risk more of the public falling victim to these scams.” asserted
more → join → scams
In July, Ofcom published proposals on tackling paid-for scam adverts. asserted
Ofcom → publish → adverts
The regulator said in July that more than half (51%) of adults have encountered potentially fraudulent ads online, with over a third (36%) seeing them frequently. asserted
third → say → them
Ofcom said an estimated total of over £200 million is lost by victims to such scams in the UK on average each year. asserted
total → say → UK
A consultation to gather feedback has been running, and final decisions will be published next year. asserted
decisions → gather → feedback
Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s online safety group director, said: “For too long, victims have been exposed to scam ads online with tech giants simply not doing enough to combat the fraudsters using their platforms. asserted
giants → say → platforms
“We’ve set out nearly 40 practical, protective measures for companies to adopt. asserted
companies → set → measures
We expect firms to take robust action to stamp out scam ads and boot out the bad actors behind them to safeguard their users. asserted
firms → expect → users
“Platforms should not drag their heels – they can start making improvements for their users now. asserted
they → drag → users
“And sites and apps that fail to meet their legal duties, once in force, can expect to face serious consequences.” asserted
that → fail → consequences
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