Stop Scams UK

Women fighting fraud 🌐 Next up in Stop Scams UK's series of interviews with some of the most influential women fighting fraud is Dr Elisabeth Carter. Dr Carter is best known for her work in examining fraudulent interactions, particularly romance and investment fraud, and how multiple frauds and other criminal acts hide within the cover of one fraud type. We asked her what motivates her to keep up the fight? What is industry doing right now that excites her? And what changes is she eager to see in the anti-fraud arena? Read Elisabeth's thoughts in the article below. If you'd like to be part of the series then comment below and we'll be in touch. #womenfightingfraud #stopscamsuk #collaboration #fraudprevention #scams

Stop Scams UK had the privilege of hosting Andrew Marr at our 2024 Annual General Meeting.   Andrew shared his insight with our members on the recent general election, the challenges facing the new UK government, and how it will impact the fraud and scam policy ecosystem during the next parliament.   Our CEO Mark Tierney and Chair Ruth Evans provided a compelling overview of the past year's achievements and a glimpse into what promises to be a hugely exciting future. He also lifted the lid on some potentially groundbreaking initiatives that are in the pipeline...watch this space! The meeting generated plenty of lively discussion and ideas amongst our members on how the banking, technology and telecoms sectors can come together to stop scams at source.   In his review of the meeting, board member and Director of Economic Crime Risk, Adrian Quigley said: “Whilst in my twenty years in financial services, I’ve been part of many, very productive collaborations, this has been one of the most impactful cross sector initiatives, exemplified by some of (for the moment, top secret!) showcase projects that were unveiled to the broader membership today. These will go to the heart of the Stop Scams’ mission to stop scams at source, as well as continue to build on the success of the pioneering ‘159’ telephone service, which securely connects consumers to their bank when they feel they are being targeted by a scam.”   A huge thanks to Dave Harcourt and BT Group for hosting us in London.

Women fighting fraud 🌐   Stop Scams UK is beginning a LinkedIn series in which we talk to some of the most influential women fighting fraud today. We ask them what motivates them to keep up the fight? What are their industries doing right now that excites them? And what changes are they eager to see in the anti-fraud arena?   To kick off the series, we start with Clare Messenger. Clare heads up the Fraud Protection Services division for JT Group - a Tier-1 Telecom Company with over 600 Mobile Network Operator partners worldwide. Read Clare's thoughts in the article below: #womenfightingfraud #stopscamsuk #collaboration #fraudprevention #scams

Stop Scams UK at the Fraud Leaders' Summit 🌐 Our CEO Mark Tierney was in action at the Fraud Leaders' Summit today, where he spoke about the innovative work we have been doing on interactive SMS scams with our telco and banking members, and the importance of starting with meaningful pilots to get the sharing of data going. Big thanks to Laura Lewis for the invitation. #scams #fraudleaderssummit #fraud #finance #collaboration

Bravo Sharad Agarwal! 👏

On Tuesday our Product Analyst Sharad Agarwal and International Engagement Manager Hester Abrams were both in action at the Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) in Brussels. Sharad presented on the innovative work we have been doing on interactive SMS scams with our telco and banking members, while Hester discussed international best practice in collaborating to combat scams. Thank you to Jorij Abraham and everyone at Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) for convening such a powerful event, and to everyone who participated in so many stimulating conversations. #gasa #internationalcollaboration #fraudprevention #scams

Our International Engagement Manager Hester Abrams and Product Analyst Sharad Agarwal are at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Europe 2024 in Brussels, presented by Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), which has brought together 300 people from across financial services, telecoms, tech, government, law enforcement and data from Europe and further afield. Among discussion of information sharing, improving policy alignment and protecting the public, the conference also heard on Monday from several people who had been scammed. One, Pieter, showed how frustrated he has been having lost money to what he called a “Ponzi scheme” after making crypto currency investments and described how he had turned investigator, talked to others caught up in the losses but still had no idea how to trace where the money went or who did it. Dutch public radio journalist Salva van der Gaag described how she became a hacker herself after her logon credentials were stolen and her social media accounts closed by scammers. “We figured out they were posting from Lagos. It wasn’t just one person but a real big network. It’s so easy and you don’t have to be a professional to launch a scam website.” Ayleen Charlotte spoke at “Ask Not What Consumers Can Do, but What You Can Do for Consumers”, a workshop devoted to what more can be done for people who suffer them after a scam. Since being scammed by the notorious “Tinder Swindler” and featured in a 2022 Netflix documentary of the same name, she has devoted her energies to driving awareness and encouraging people who have gone through this similar suffering to speak up. “The real victim is still getting nothing,” she said. Other speakers in that session, chaired by two consumer bodies, included @top Scams UK member Amazon. The discussion was so lively Hester suggested an impromptu photo-shoot. Thanks to Simon Newman, CEO of the Online Dating and Discovery Association, for capturing the moment. And here’s to the many women at the forefront of fighting scams and doing more for the millions of ordinary people caught up in them. Left to Right Liz Coll from Connected Consumers, Els Bruggeman from euroconsumers, New Zealand’s Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden, Hedi Navazan from Crystal Intelligence, Ayleen Charlotte, Nicole Tuckwell from Mastercard, Abigail Bishop from Amazon, and Helmi Elina Korhonen from Sosped-säätiö | Sosped Foundation along with our very own Hester Abrams. Earlier Jorij Abraham, Managing Director of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance revealed its latest annual Global State of Scams survey: Global losses from scams have reached $1,026 trillion with 25.5% - a quarter of the people on the planet - having lost money to scams in 2023. Consumers' biggest concern, he said, is that criminals are not being caught. Both Hester and Sharad will be speaking at the summit later today, so if you’re there, make sure you catch them live. #gasasummit #scams #collaboration #international

🚨 Stop Scams UK at Trust:Live 🚨 This week, we had the privilege of participating in LexisNexis' Trust:Live, where Stop Scams UK International Engagement, Communications and New Business Manager Hester Abrams, chaired an insightful panel discussion, "Collaborating to Minimise Scams". Joined by Stop Scams UK Product Analyst, Sharad Agarwal, and panellists Brian Webb, CSO of BT Group Consumer, and Boris Diakonov, CEO of ANNA Money, the group discussed the necessity of cross-sector collaboration to move beyond a blame game to develop long-lasting, cross-industry solutions. The panel focussed on: 🔹 The importance of cross-sector collaboration for effective fraud prevention. 🔹 Current successful initiatives and the promise they hold. 🔹 Practical examples like Stop Scams UK's Scam Intelligence pilot on "Hey Mum/Hey Dad" scams. 🔹 Future steps and the potential global impact of our collaborative efforts. #stopscamsuk #trustlive2024 #fraudprevention #crosssectorcollaboration #datasharing #techforgood

Love seeing post-it notes in action! Can you put your ideas down succinctly in just five to seven words? Watch this space to see a report of what we discussed last week: what fraud experts predict we'll need to be in the best shape to meet the scam challenges of the 2030s, and what they'll ask of government. All of us, as shoppers and users of digital technology -- even just walking down the street with our phones -- will need to be on our mettle against a rising tide. #futurefraudprevention #scamsemergency Stop Scams UK

🚨Stop Scams UK brings together industry and government to set the vision for the future of scam prevention We were delighted to convene a roundtable of industry and government leaders to shape a collective anti-scam vision for the next decade. Chaired by Nicky Morgan, senior stakeholders from industry, government, charities, and technical fraud experts, considered the possible future scam environment of the 2030s and what interventions are needed now to meet that challenge effectively. #StopScamsUK #FraudPrevention #IndustryCollaboration #FutureStrategy