compliance

Ofcom Consultation October release date

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Ofcom logo

Ofcom have provided an update about the release of their pending consultation to industry.

It had been expected at the start of September, but they have now confirmed that they are working to publish their document in early to middle of October. The consultation period is expected to be 8 weeks long. There is however, the potential that this may get pushed back due to the Parliamentary Recess taking place during this time.

This consultation represents the biggest regulatory change in 10 years, and industry are looking to this document to see what the regulatory landscape will look like going forwards, though Ofcom have confirmed they hope to keep as much of Code 15 as possible.

aimm’s Code 15 training is available for companies who wish to ensure that their business and staff are compliant under this Code. This comprehensive training provides a look at the key elements of Code 15 and the Standards a Provider is required to operate under. If this is something you would like to learn more about and how this could benefit your business get your copy of the information pack above.

aimm are running a series of Workshops through November to allow members to provide feedback and thoughts that will contribute to aimm’s consultation response.

We will continue to keep industry updated on this and the timelines for this release. If you wish to receive occasional industry and regulatory updates for your business please use our contact form to request to join our mailing list.

Learn more about the transition of the PSA into Ofcom and the Ofcom Consultation

App Malware Reads Notifications Blood Pressure Tracker App

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

 

As a leading mobile compliance and fraud specialist company, MCP Insight continually tests and validates potential issues coming from websites or malicious applications.
MCP have put together their document ‘MCP Mobile Malware Update‘ to reflect on a recent discovery of a malicious application called “Blood Pressure Tracker App”.

MCP understands the brand damage such fraud does to the mobile payments Industry and we will work with partners to ensure that fraud and the malicious operators perpetrating
fraud, are shut down. MCP work helps mitigate the impact of malicious activity, whilst also showing the importance of anti-fraud solutions and the role they play protecting business and consumers alike.

www.mcpinsight.com

 

Advertising monitoring identifies ‘sick’ attempts to capitalise on Ukraine War

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Leading advertising fraud monitoring provider, MCP Insight, has revealed that in the past weeks it has picked up the emergence of shameless attempts to capitalise on the publics’ empathy for the plight of the citizens of Ukraine.

Soon after the Russian invasion, the MCP Scanner ad monitoring tool began identifying emotive banner adverts, such as the need for a ‘Ukrainian No Fly Zone’, appearing on random websites.

Members of the public clicking these adverts found themselves redirected to Adult (pornographic) content websites, and not to the balanced information sources or charity pages which the web user might reasonably expect.

These particular adverts, run by third-party affiliate marketeers, are the latest in a trend of misleading and in some cases, fraudulent adverts being picked up worldwide by MCP’s scanning tool.

Commenting on the finds, MCP’s Head of Compliance, David Ashman, said: “Companies or individuals seeking to gain commercial advantage by misleading the vulnerable consumer is a sad reality of the digital age; however, with the lives of women, children and everyday citizens being lost in Ukraine, this new style of sickly targeted advertising scrapes the very bottom of the moral barrel”

Without use of tools, such as MCPs Scanner, mainstream brands paying for referral traffic are often blind to the techniques and messages that certain Affiliates use to encourage user clicks through to the brand website.

The scope of potential harm extends not only to those consumers being misled, or children potentially being exposed to sexual content; charities also suffer when their legitimate calls for help are priced out of the market by unscrupulous advertisers.

These nefarious advertising practices are being brought into sharp focus with the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill.

The Bill will place a greater duty of care on companies and brands to understand the entire consumer journey and increase the controls and protections to identify and block these inappropriate traffic sources.

MCP’s Founder, Toby Padgham commented: “There is far more companies could be doing, voluntarily, to clean up the internet. Whilst we welcome the aims of the Online Safety Bill, the need for prescriptive regulation could have been prevented. We encourage big brands to utilise the tools already available to them to better self-police the leads and referrals they receive, as this will lead to the best outcome both for consumer and the Brand’s reputation”

MCP Insight is an anti-fraud & compliance solutions provider, with operations across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

aimm says goodbye to Rory

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Changes to the Executive structure at aimm

As announced to aimm members last month, the new aimm Board has decided to change the Executive Team structure to ensure that the diverse needs and the concerns of all of the aimm membership are understood and accurately reflected.

Rory Maguire, after 5 years at the helm of aimm will be stepping back at the end of June to focus on his consultancy business, handing the baton to General Manager Joanna Cox who starts in August.

The aimm Board and the Executive team will be working together to look at the strategy and focus of aimm going forwards, to ensure that all our members continue to feel their voice is heard through their trade association, and aimm continues to support its membership through this period of progression.

We would like to thank Rory for all his hard work during these past years. He has worked tirelessly on important regulatory and business issues which has resulted in improvements and changes across industry, benefiting our members businesses and the wider industry as a whole.

Monitoring Compliance Partners (MCP) have rebranded as MCP Insight Ltd.

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

MCP’s foundation was built on advertising compliance monitoring and verification services for the VAS Industry. Over the last 4 years we have grown and evolved as a business. Not only are we now live in 26 territories (30 by end of Q2), we have also invested in producing deeper market intelligence to support our clients’ understanding of market trends – particularly in relation to compliance and fraud.

Our powerful monitoring and analytical tool-set makes us well equipped to provide a broader set of services to a wider marketplace. Therefore, we feel MCP Insight Ltd. better reflects our strategy for the future, as well as our value proposition over the coming years.

We look forward to continuing our work with valued clients, helping them to ensure that consumer safety and brand protection remains at the forefront of their on-line marketing strategies. Find out more about us and our services on our new website www.mcpinsight.com

For more information on exciting new products launching soon, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. If you would like a free demonstration of our product solution, contact us here.