A key question that keeps arising in industry meetings I’ve attended recent months, from operators, regulators, and platform teams alike is why are scams accelerating, despite our investments to make networks more intelligent and our security tools more advanced?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This paradox feels sharpest in India. Despite being home to one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, where operators and the government are strongly focused on safeguarding consumers, it remains one of the most heavily targeted by a rapidly evolving and increasingly organised scam ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scams have never been more organised, more cross-border, or more cleverly disguised. Yet discussions at recent industry forums felt different this year. They were less about sounding the alarm and more about practical solutions. A shared understanding is emerging across the digital ecosystem: stopping scams requires coordination across sectors, not isolated action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s why ACAST, the Asia Pacific Cross Sector Anti Scam Taskforce, is vital to shaping how the region’s mobile ecosystem tackles this threat going forward. Created less a year ago, ACAST now comprises 39 members om 17 countries, including Airtel, Jio, and Vi in India. By bringing together mobile operators, online platforms, technology specialists and public authorities, it’s helping to coordinate evidence, share threat intelligence, align technical methods, and explore privacy-respecting data-sharing models. lt is the region’s first structured, cross-sector mechanism created specifically to tackle scams at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why the scam problem getting harder, including in India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Consumer research we’ve carried out shows that nearly one in ten consumers in Southeast Asia were scammed last year, and eighty-four percent believe the situation is worsening. India mirrors this trend greater scale. More than half of Indian consumers have been scammed at least once, and ten percent were scammed in the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital channels are the dominant entry points. Forty six percent of scams in India begin messaging apps, with SMS, email, social platforms, and voice calls not far behind. A typical scam moves seamlessly across multiple platforms and industries\u2014beginning with a suspicious message, escalating to a spoofed call, and ending a fraudulent transaction. Scammers operate fluidly across these boundaries. Our defences, historically, do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial intelligence is making the threat more sophisticated. Ten percent of Indian consumers believe they have encountered AI-enabled scams, such as synthetic voice impersonation or automated phishing scripts. Defences built for earlier digital era cannot keep pace with such rapid evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What consumers are telling us, and why India cannot ignore it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Across Asia, research shows that consumers are not opposed to sharing their data. While they reject unclear or unprotected data sharing, nearly three-quarters of ASEAN consumers are willing to share data to prevent scams if privacy safeguards are in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indian consumers express similar expectations. Only a quarter believe scam prevention is primarily their responsibility. Many expect digital service providers, banks telecom networks, and public authorities to take the lead. Notably, thirty-six percent would switch financial providers for stronger security backed by telecom data intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The message is consistent: people support cross-sector collaboration when it is transparent and clearly designed to protect them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scam prevention now depends on ecosystem responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent industry dialogue made one point repeatedly: scams exploit the boundaries between industries. Telecom networks see part of the picture. Messaging platforms see another. Financial services see yet another. Scammers use these divisions to their advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India’s recent experience proves this. Working with national authorities, operators deployed AI based detection systems that reduced spoofed call volumes by ninety percent within months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These results reveal a consistent pattern: when networks and authorities work together, defences strengthen immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why initiatives like ACAST matter \u2014 and what it means for India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ACAST provides a trusted environment for coordinated action. Members share lessons on Al\u2014supported scam filters, network-level interventions, impersonation pattern detection, and approaches to privacy-respectful data sharing. This collaboration is informing national strategies across multiple markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For India, a significant development is the work operators are doing through OpenGateway. By providing standardised APIs such as SIM Swap and Number Verification, operators are not simply enabling banks and digital platforms to access real-time signals; they are leveraging a common, industry-wide framework for open APIs that supports coordinated, cross-sector action against scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The broader lesson is that coordination is not only possible but effective. It accelerates progress and reduces systemic blind spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A final reflection. The scam economy may thrive in silos , but our defence does not have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across recent industry discussions, one message stood out: coordinated action works. In the Asia Pacific, ACAST is turning that message into practical outcomes. And in India, the need for such coordination is urgent. With more than half of consumers affected by scams and the digital economy expanding at extraordinary speed, siloed responses are no longer viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consumers have delivered a clear mandate. Nearly three-quarters are willing to share privacy-protected data when it clearly helps prevent scams. This is not just a preference\u2014it is a call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers collaborate through sophisticated criminal value chains. They exchange scripts, identities, and tools with ease. Legitimate sectors must match that level of coordination if we are to prevent harm rather than merely respond to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tools are evolving. The safeguards need strengthening. The frameworks must come together. Through ACAST, Open Gateway, and industry wide collaboration, the foundations for coordinated action are already in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scam economy thrives in fragmentation. Our defence must not. Coordination is our strongest advantage\u2014and now is the moment to use it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A key question that keeps arising in industry meetings I’ve attended recent months, from operators, regulators, and platform teams alike is why are scams accelerating, despite our investments to make networks more intelligent and our security tools more advanced? This paradox feels sharpest in India. 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