A group of major tech companies including Meta, Coinbase, and others have jointly launched a new coalition to take on online fraud across dating apps, social media and crypto platforms.
According to a statement released by the group on Tuesday, the new coalition, Tech Against Scams, will work together to find ways to fight back against the tools used by scammers and to better educate the public against financial scams.
Other members of the coalition include Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, Kraken, Ripple and Gemini, as well as the Global Anti-Scam Organization.
They added that the work of the coalition will include sharing best practices, threat intelligence, and other tips and information to help keep users safe and protected before they become victims of an online fraud scheme such as romance scams or crypto scams such as ‘pig butchering’.
Why a combined force is needed
Commenting on the need for the various players to come together to fight their common enemy, Chief Information Security Officer at Meta, Guy Rose, said,
“Scammers and the organized criminal groups behind pig butchering schemes target people across many internet services, making it hard for any one company to see the full picture of malicious activity and counting on each of us working in silos.
“We hope that this coalition will serve as a force multiplier for security teams at tech companies to share threat insights and trends to enable more impactful disruptions of scam networks around the world.”
VP, of Trust & Safety at Match Group, Yoel Roth, said tech companies across industries collaborating with each other is essential for preventing criminal activity and ultimately helps online platforms stay ahead of, and develop effective solutions for, various types of financial crimes.
“As we work to make it harder for scammers to defraud people, we will also continue investing in new technologies to help disrupt fraud and scams faster, and get people the support and resources they need,” he added.
Counbase Chief Security Officer, Philip Martin, noted that fraud schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, underscoring a greater emphasis on the importance of industry leaders coming together to tackle fraud and secure a safer digital environment for users. “We are dedicated to disrupting emerging online scams through collaboration, information sharing, and enhanced consumer education,” he said.
What you should know
One of the online frauds to be tackled by the coalition, pig butchering, is a long-term scam involving investment fraud, where the victim is lured into making crypto investments.
The scammer often targets users on social apps, befriending them or building trust with communication before stealing their funds.
With AI, the difference between scams and real-life interactions is getting harder to detect, too. Recent reports indicated that scammers are using AI to create persuasive FaceTime calls, phone calls, and emails to their victims, where they may pose as loved ones, prospective lovers, friends or even IRS agents.
