Working Groups

Goal:

• Create a clearly articulated problem definition about fraud and scams against consumers and businesses in the United States. 

• Propose clear mechanisms for measurement. 

• Estimate the size of the problem(s). 

• Set a clearly defined goal for fraud and scam reduction that can become a rallying cry for the country’s civic and corporate leaders.
  

Problem Statement: (being refined for adoption by the working group)

• Many scams and fraud go unreported, and there are no universally agreed metrics to track them or centralized repository for them.

• Consequently, it has been difficult to estimate the size of the fraud and scams problem, assess the efficacy of existing prevention strategies, or identify what scam strategies are most active at any given time.

• To be successful, a national strategy must use the best available measurements to target responses to this national problem. 

• Proponents of the strategy will have to identify the best ways to demonstrate 

  • the size and importance of the problem, to help drive support and action from policymakers, corporate leaders, and consumer and community advocates 

  • the comparative success of different prevention strategies and tools, to inform strategic decisionmaking and intervention innovation;

  • the current state of the evolving scam ecosystem, to help law enforcement effectively prevent and prosecute crimes.

• Once adopted, effective ways of measuring success of the strategy must be implemented. Part of the long-term solution should include ways to improve collection of data and metrics, but in a cost-effective and timely way.

Goal:

Propose a set of guiding principles and actions the government and/or firms should take to coordinate and operationalize knowledge and signals sharing across industry boundaries. 

• Signal sharing efforts will have been effective if they allow us to:

  • Identify & remove bad actors from platforms

  • Reduce upstream/early consumer engagement with likely criminals & scammers

  • Reduce the total number of consumers affected by this type of crime

  • Reduce the total $ amount obtained by scammers each year 

• Recommendations should enable improved detection and prevention of scams across the life cycle, 

  • particularly improving efforts upstream, like for communications platforms including social media, email, phone, and text,

  • and web hosts and other providers used to host phishing websites, fake investment and cryptocurrency platforms, and malicious advertising,

  • as well as for valid banking, payment, and money management platforms.

• and more effectively recruit and incorporate data from victims.

• Recommendations should focus on operational or procedural goals (assuming, within reason, that legal/regulatory constraints will be addressed). 

Problem Statement: (being refined for adoption by the working group)

• Lack of visibility across the fraud/theft/scam landscape of near-real-time actionable intelligence makes it challenging for the individual entities involved in preventing fraud and scam to keep up with the dramatic increase, swift evolution, and technological / psychological sophistication of scam and fraud activity.

• Banks, telcos, retailers, tech, and social media firms have developed or are developing mechanisms–within their own industries and, in some cases, between players in different industries–for identifying fraud and sharing information with some industry peers and regulators. However, they face the following challenges in expanding those efforts:

• Companies and agencies lack adequate standards and mechanisms for sharing information across industry and government silos. 

• In some cases, laws or regulations actually prevent information sharing, or there are compliance risks involved. 

• There are now a number of distinct existing independent information sharing efforts to choose from.

• The operational overhead required–e.g. data cleaning, legal agreements, and other elements of the information sharing process–require allocation of company resources.

Goal:

• Recommend government actions or policy changes to improve law enforcement’s ability to disrupt scams that deceive or harm individuals, specifically to:

  • Increase the role law enforcement agencies play in disrupting scammers’ ability to communicate with victims. 

  • When scams occur, make reporting easier and more actionable and enhance deployment of law enforcement resources to improve victim recovery.

Problem Statement: (being refined for adoption by the working group)

• Transnational organized criminal networks and other bad actors have developed sophisticated tools and strategies to communicate with victims, prey on them, and steal their money and assets. 

• Criminals engaging in scams and other forms of financial fraud are outpacing law enforcement’s capacity to stop them, leaving consumers vulnerable to exploitation.

• Given the number of entities and platforms involved in the perpetration of these crimes, victims are left without clear direction on where and how to report these crimes.

• For law enforcement to disrupt scam activities, hold perpetrators to account, and seize illicit gains, there is need for:

  • additional resources and attention in support of state and local law enforcement, and at the federal level;

  • greater transparency & coordination between counter-fraud activities in different U.S. agencies and entities, potentially including centralizing the efforts;

  • increased education for state and local law enforcement as well as for the private sector on best practices for intervention, reporting, and prosecution

  • mechanisms for sharing relevant information between agencies and with the private sector (see Information Sharing Across Sectors working groups).

Goal:

• To identify gaps in scam prevention across industries and bolster consumer adoption of protective actions they can take to avoid being defrauded.

• This will include identifying actions industries can adopt to reduce fraud risk to consumers and aligning on a national consumer awareness strategy.

• This working group will consider potential government policies, industry best practices, education campaigns, and/or funding arrangements to improve outcomes of industry-driven preventions/interventions and consumer awareness.

Definitions:

• Awareness: strategies to bolster consumer adoption of protective & preventative actions they can take to avoid being defrauded

• Warning: proactive provider communications with customers or direct actions providers take to introduce friction when there is heightened risk of harm

• Intervention: direct actions providers adopt when imminent harm is indicated to prevent completion of fraudulent activity

Problem Statement: (being refined for adoption by the working group)

Fraud and scams pose a growing and evolving threat to the American public.

• Economic Impact: In 2023 alone, $158 billion was stolen from Americans—a staggering figure equivalent to more than $1 million each day for 433 years. This reflects a sharp increase in fraudulent activities fueled by technological advancements and psychological manipulation.

• Sophisticated Strategies: Criminals are leveraging diverse communication and commerce platforms with technologically and psychologically sophisticated tactics, introducing new scams at an alarming rate.

Consumer Challenges

• Limitations of Consumer Awareness: Despite the risks, many individuals remain unaware or uncertain about how to protect themselves. 

• Victim Shame: Victims of fraud face shame, embarrassment, confusion, and lack of hope for recovery, preventing them from reporting and participating in the criminal justice process.

While consumer education is a key component of fraud prevention, it alone cannot solve this crisis.

Provider Challenges: 

• Eroding consumer confidence in critical economic infrastructure, including communications, technology, and financial services. 

• Lack of clarity / data on the ideal balance for consumers between ease of experience and protection against fraud.

• How to communicate effective, actionable, and timely interventions without exacerbating distrust in economic systems.

• Lack of cross-sector coordination: the anti-fraud efforts of each provider / industry / government agency in isolation are not sufficient to prevent fraud.

Goal: Propose key elements of a plan to advocate for the national strategy.

• Ensure Task Force members have consistent messaging.

• Deploy the strategic communications plan.