Fraud and Scams

Background

Fraud and scams are emerging as significant global threats, often by organised international criminal gangs. Despite not being responsible for perpetrating the crimes, mobile operators are usually the first point of contact for their customers when they are targeted through their mobile device and become victims.

To bypass a mobile network’s technical defences, criminals use social engineering tactics to manipulate individuals who can be employees or consumers, into disclosing personal or sensitive information, or make financial transactions. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) allows criminals to deploy more sophisticated methods and widen their scope and scale to target diverse populations across different regions.

The impact of fraud and scams on victims can be significant. In addition to financial loss, the emotional distress and embarrassment leave many wary and reluctant to engage in the digital space. This erosion of trust can have a negative impact on consumers’ quality of life because many services and interactions are online.

Legislators worldwide are responding to this issue through new laws and regulations. For example, the Australian Scams Prevention Framework sets out principles that regulated entities (banks, telecoms, social media companies) must comply with. Financial regulators, such as those in Africa and Singapore, are enforcing stricter authentication and know your customer (KYC) requirements for financial institutions and mobile money providers (MMPs) to reduce the likelihood of impersonation scams.

Mobile operators are investing significant resources in solutions that include firewalls, block lists and continuous system monitoring. The GSMA plays an important coordination role, providing platforms to share intelligence through the Fraud and Security Group (FASG) and Telecommunication Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (T-ISAC). The GSMA Open Gateway initiative and Scam Signal are helping to unite the mobile and financial services industries behind standardised technology solutions that can assist in combating this crime.

Debate

How should mobile operators and other organisations, such as law enforcement, financial institutions and social media/digital platforms, collaborate to effectively combat scams and fraud to reduce risk for end users and ensure criminals are prosecuted?

When legislating, how should governments address fraud and scams effectively and provide legal certainty, without discouraging industry efforts to innovate and invest in fraud prevention measures?

What measures should governments be taking to educate the public in staying safe online and reducing the risk of being targeted by scammers?