Building on this summer’s launch of the ScamClassifier℠ model (Off-site) — a new tool to help improve scam reporting, detection and mitigation — an industry work group has developed recommendations for further consideration by the payments industry on ways to provide scam intelligence across payment rails.
The scams information sharing industry work group (Off-site) was launched in June 2023 with administrative support from the Federal Reserve. The group consists of 30 fraud prevention and payments experts from across the U.S. Released in August 2024, this group’s report, Scams Information Sharing Industry Work Group Recommendations (Off-site) recommends that the industry consider a solution or establish an independent information exchange framework to provide a single source for scam intelligence across payment rails. The report also includes ideas about how to establish the proposed exchange framework and how it might evolve.
“The Federal Reserve has supported this industry work group and others over the years to draw attention to and encourage action on addressing scams and other types of fraud,” said Mike Timoney, vice president of payments improvement, Federal Reserve Financial Services. “Most information about fraud and scams remains siloed, causing fragmented, less effective attempts to combat them. Alternatively, industry-wide information sharing can help payments stakeholders develop effective strategies to detect and prevent scams, which can cause significant financial losses and negatively impact both consumers and organizations.”
The industry work group’s report acknowledges that barriers can change and identifying or building a solution with the full functionality as envisioned will take time. Members discussed the need for a governing body and participant requirements if the establishment of a new exchange is pursued. The industry work group also recommends a phased approach, starting with minimal viable functionality focused on sharing scam intelligence as part of organizations’ existing operations. Exchange functionality can then expand over time to include sharing detection information and eventually, exchange reports.
